Texas doctor who moved to Africa to help ebola patients has contracted the disease

A Texas doctor who had moved to Liberia to work for a medical charity been infected with the deadly virus ebola.

Dr Kent Brantly, who had moved to the country before the outbreak, is now being treated for the disease at a Liberia hospital.

Ebola, one of the world's deadliest viruses, has been spreading through West Africa, with the latest case being confirmed in Nigeria after an infected businessman traveled there by plane.

 

Dr Brantly, medical director for the North-Carolina-based company Samaritan's Purse, had been part of a team working in grueling conditions at an ebola ward in Monrovia.

The married father-of-two had to wear a special suit to protect him from the highly contagious disease, while working in an isolation unit in the stifling African heat.

Although his family had been living in Liberia with him, a spokesperson for Samaritan's Purse said they were in the U.S. when he fell ill.

The 33-year-old joined the Christian international relief organization after finishing his medical residency at John Peter Smith Hospital, in Forth Worth.

President of the Texas hospital, Robert Earley, said staff were shocked and saddened by the news, as he praised Dr Brantly's dedication to help others.

'This is the kind of individual that he is. They go into the worst situations in the world and try to save lives,' he told WFAA.

Colleagues at Samaritan's Purse said the agency was doing everything in its power to get Dr Brantly the best possible care.

Symptoms of ebola mimic other common illnesses such as malaria in the early stages. But the disease is passed on quickly through blood, bodily fluids or infected tissues in people or animals.

Deadly outbreak

The current outbreak of ebola has spread to at least four countries in West Africa since the start of the year. 
So far, it has claimed 672 victims, and infected 1,093.
Countries affected include Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria.
The disease spreads through contact with blood, body fluids or contact with tissue from infected people or animals.
It has only a 10 percent survival rate.

With only a 10 percent chance of survival, the disease has a devastating impact on communities.

The most recent outbreak, which began earlier this year, has already killed 672 people in at least four countries.

In a worrying development, an airline passenger traveling from Liberia to Nigeria, via Togo, died from the disease after arriving in Lagos.

Patrick Sawyer, a consultant for the Liberian Ministry of Finance, arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday and was immediately detained by health authorities suspecting he might have ebola, Plyler said.

Authorities announced Friday that blood tests from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital confirmed Sawyer died of ebola earlier that day.

An outbreak in Lagos, Africa's megacity where many live in cramped conditions, could be a major diisaster.

'Lagos is completely different from other cities because we're talking about millions of people,' Dr Unni Krishnan, of Plan International's Disaster Response and Preparedness, said.

Nigerian newspapers described the effort to contain the outbreak as a 'scramble'  after Sawyer arrived in Lagos for an international conference, and then died Friday.

International airports in the country are screening passengers arriving from foreign countries for symptoms, Yakubu Dati, spokesman for Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria, said.

Airports have also set up holding rooms in case another potential Ebola victim lands in Nigeria.

The ease at which a traveler, who could be infected, can move on international flights from Liberia has concerned health organizations.

It has raised fears that other passengers could unwittingly contribute to the spread of the disease.

Officials in Togo, where Sawyer passed through, have been on high alert since the latest case was confirmed.

Dr Lance Plyler, who leads the ebola medical efforts in Liberia that Dr Brantly was part of, said screening airline passengers may help slow the spread of the disease, but it couldn't prevent it.

'Unfortunately the initial signs of ebola imitate other diseases, like malaria or typhoid,' he said.

Airports in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three other West African countries affected by the current outbreak, have implemented some preventive measures, according to officials in those countries. But none of the safeguards are foolproof, health experts warned.

Ebola has a variable incubation period of between two and 21 days and cannot be diagnosed on the spot.

Sawyer reportedly did not show ebola symptoms when he boarded the plane, Plyler said, but by the time he arrived in Nigeria he was vomiting and had diarrhea.

There has not been another recently recorded case of Ebola spreading through air travel, he added.

Nearly 50 other passengers on the flight are being monitored for signs of Ebola but are not being kept in isolation, said an employee at Nigeria's Ministry of Health, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

Sawyer's sister also died of ebola in Liberia, according to officials, but he claimed to have had no contact with her.

Ebola is passed by touching bodily fluids of patients even after they die, he said. Traditional burials that include rubbing the bodies of the dead contribute to the spread of the disease, Dr Krishnan added.

There is no 'magic bullet' cure for ebola, but early detection and treatment of fluids and nutrition can be effective. Quickly isolating patients is also crucial in slowing the spread of the disease.