HAVANA – A Cuban doctor treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone has tested positive for the disease and was being sent to Geneva for treatment, officials said.
Government officials say on Wednesday in Cuba that the doctor, identified as Felix Baez, was one of 165 Cuban doctors and nurses treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, since early October.
It said they are part of a Cuban team of 256 medical professionals sent to West Africa to treat patients in the worst Ebola outbreak on record that has killed more than 5,000 people.
Government noted that Baez, a Specialist in Internal Medicine, had a fever on Sunday and tested positive on Monday after being taken to Freetown.
A statement by the Cuban government noted that the doctor has not shown complications and was “hemodynamically stable.
“Our collaborator is being tended to by a team of British professionals with experience in treating patients who have displayed the disease and they have maintained constant communication with our brigade,” it said.
It said some Cuban 165 doctors and nurses have gone to Sierra Leone for a six-month mission, with another 53 in Liberia and 38 in Guinea.
It said another 205 have undergone three weeks of training, with extensive practice in using protective full-body suits, and are ready to receive an Ebola assignment.
It noted that in all, there are more than 50,000 health workers in 67 countries.
The latest WHO report on Nov. 14 says 5,177 Ebola deaths have been recorded out of 14,133 cases, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. (Reuters/NAN)