Accessibility links

Breaking News

Top Doctor in Sierra Leone's Fight Against Ebola Dies From Virus


Medical personnel inside a clinic taking care of Ebola patients in the Kenema District on the outskirts of Kenema, Sierra Leone, Jul 27, 2014.
Medical personnel inside a clinic taking care of Ebola patients in the Kenema District on the outskirts of Kenema, Sierra Leone, Jul 27, 2014.

The 39-year-old doctor leading the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone has died from the virus.

The country’s chief medical officer says Dr. Umar Khan died Tuesday afternoon.

Khan’s death comes less than a week after he tested positive for Ebola, and on the same day that Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma was due to visit his treatment center in the northeastern town of Kailahun.

The young doctor, credited with treating more than 100 Ebola patients, was a national hero in Sierra Leone.

Ebola, labs worldwide, diagnostic and outbreak response
Ebola, labs worldwide, diagnostic and outbreak response

Three nurses at the same facility, about 300 kilometers east of the capital city, Freetown, where Khan worked have died from the virus.

The current Ebola outbreak began in February and health experts are calling it the worst on record.

The World Health Organization in a report updated on Saturday said Ebola has killed at least 672 people in West Africa.

The WHO said 319 people have died from Ebola in Guinea. It also reported 224 deaths in Sierra Leone and 129 in Liberia.

There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola. The virus causes symptoms that include fever, vomiting, diarrhea and unstoppable bleeding.

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG