FREETOWN: Alarm soared in west Africa yesterday over the deadliest ever Ebola virus outbreak, with an American doctor contracting the disease in Liberia and the death of the first victim from Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown.
Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian charity, said Dr Kent Brantly was quarantined at the group’s Ebola treatment centre at the ELWA hospital in the Liberian capital Monrovia after falling ill while treating sufferers of the disease, which is deadly in up to 90 percent of cases.
“We remain optimistic for his recovery, but certainly he is not out of the woods,” said spokeswoman Melissa Strickland.
His symptoms include intermittent fever and body aches.
In a statement announcing the Ebola case yesterday, the organisation said that Brantly was married with two children.
“Samaritan’s Purse is committed to doing everything possible to help Dr Brantly during this time of crisis. We ask everyone to please pray for him and his family,” it added.
The US State Department said it was aware of an Ebola case but could not provide information about a private individual.
An Ebola epidemic has killed at least 660 people in four west African countries since the start of the year, according to statistics from the World Health Organization.
AFP
