Sierra Leone : another doctor sick with Ebola - 12th physician to become infected - Dr. Victor Willoughby died

[tetano]

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) ? An official in Sierra Leone says one of the country's top doctors has contracted the Ebola virus.

Dr. Victor Willoughby is the 12th Sierra Leonean physician to become infected ? 10 of whom have died.

Government Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brima Kargbo confirmed Sunday that Willoughby had tested positive for Ebola.

Nearly 1,800 people have died from Ebola this year in Sierra Leone amid the regional epidemic. Doctors and nurses have been especially vulnerable because the disease is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of the sick.

Junior doctors in Sierra Leone last week launched a strike to demand better medical treatment for health workers who contract the disease. Kargbo said Sunday that skeleton crews have returned to aid the senior doctors.

http://www.41nbc.com/story/d/story/...-sick-with-ebola/43585/vdfK3zCja0ecWmVJYVyENg

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Sierra Leone : another doctor sick with Ebola - 12th physician to become infected

Sierra Leone : another doctor sick with Ebola - 12th physician to become infected

Dec. 14, 2014

Another Sierra Leonean doctor sick with Ebola

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) ? An official in Sierra Leone says one of the country's top doctors has contracted the Ebola virus.

Dr. Victor Willoughby is the 12th Sierra Leonean physician to become infected ? 10 of whom have died.

Government Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brima Kargbo confirmed Sunday that Willoughby had tested positive for Ebola.

More: AP

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Sierra Leone : another doctor sick with Ebola - 12th physician to become infected

Re: Sierra Leone : another doctor sick with Ebola - 12th physician to become infected

11th Sierra Leonean Doctor Dies From Ebola

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone ? Dec 18, 2014, 8:41 AM ET
By CLARENCE ROY-MACAULAY Associated Press
Associated Press

One of Sierra Leone's most senior physicians died Thursday from Ebola, the 11th doctor in the country to succumb to the disease, a health official said.
...
Dr. Victor Willoughby tested positive for Ebola on Saturday and was being treated at a clinic near the capital run by the medical charity Emergency, said Dr. Brima Kargbo, the country's chief medical officer.

"Dr. Victor Willoughby was a mentor to us physicians and a big loss to the medical profession," said Kargbo. "He has always been available to help junior colleagues."

The 67-year-old died Thursday morning, just hours after an experimental drug arrived in the country for him. The arrival of ZMAb, developed in Canada, had raised hopes for Willoughby's survival. But he died before a dose could be administered, said Kargbo.
...
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/11th-sierra-leonean-doctor-dies-ebola-27684697

 

[blacknail]

Re: Sierra Leone : another doctor sick with Ebola - 12th physician to become infected - died

Re: Sierra Leone : another doctor sick with Ebola - 12th physician to become infected - died

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/18/health-ebola-leone-idUSL6N0U22MN20141218

...

Victor Willoughby was diagnosed with Ebola last week after he treated a man with organ-related problems. The patient, a senior banker, was later diagnosed with Ebola and has since died.

The drug, ZMab, was transported in frozen form on a Brussels Airlines flight that arrived overnight. But before it could thaw, Willoughby's condition deteriorated, said chief medical officer Brima Kargbo.

...

Sad. Would it not have made sense to take it out of the freezer for the flight, given the urgency of the situation? At least they already know the transmission chain which is an improvement from a lot of earlier cases.

 

[Emily]

Re: Sierra Leone : another doctor sick with Ebola - 12th physician to become infected - Dr. Victor Willoughby died

I'm saddened, too. It was the first news I heard on the radio today.

I'm thinking there would have been risk thawing it in transport since if there was a delay the drug might have been ruined. I wish the drug could have been sent on its way sooner since Dr. Willoughby got sick last week. I know there is a limited supply of ZMab and many people recover from Ebola without it, but overworked doctors in Sierra Leone seem very vulnerable to the disease.