Top Ebola doctor gets infected

24 July 2014 - 02:14 By Reuters
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Sheik Umar Khan
Sheik Umar Khan

The lead doctor in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus in Sierra Leone has himself caught the disease, President Ernest Bai Koroma's office said.

Sheik Umar Khan, 39, hailed as a "national hero" by the health ministry, was leading the fight to control an outbreak that has killed 206 people in the West African country.

There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola, which kills up to 90% of those infected, although the mortality rate of the current outbreak is at around 60%.

Across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, 632 people have died from the illness, according to the latest World Health Organisation data, putting great strain on the health systems of some of Africa's poorest countries.

Khan, a Sierra Leonean virologist credited with treating more than 100 Ebola victims, has been transferred to a treatment ward run by Médecins Sans Frontières, Koroma' s office said. A source at the ward confirmed that the doctor was alive and receiving treatment .

Health Minister Miatta Kargbo called Khan a national hero and said she would "do everything in my power to ensure that he survives".

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