MONROVIA – An American doctor and an aid worker helping two charitable groups fighting Ebola in Liberia have both become infected with the deadly virus, one of the groups confirmed on Sunday.
Dr. Kent Brantly, 33, medical director for the aid group Samaritan’s Purse, and his colleague Nancy Writebol, are both being treated at the center in Monrovia where they were working to help Ebola patients. Both are in stable condition, said Melissa Strickland, a spokeswoman for North Carolina-based Samaritan’s Purse.
“They have body aches and symptoms typical for Ebola but both are alert,” Strickland said.
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Their cases show just how difficult it can be to protect against Ebola, a highly contagious virus that’s spread by bodily fluids, something hard to avoid when victims vomit, bleed or suffer from diarrhea.
Ebola has infected nearly 1,100 people and killed 660 of them in the current West African outbreak, according to the World Health Organization. It’s the worst Ebola outbreak ever recorded. The virus has spread across borders between Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea and was taken by airliner for the first time ever when a Liberian citizen, Patrick Sawyer, collapsed a week ago after flying into Lagos. He has since died, and two tests came back positive for Ebola.[eap_ad_4]
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