Ebola Kills Another Doctor In Sierra Leone

A new Ebola death has been recorded in Sierra Leone after the World Health Organization said it could not help medically evacuate the victim to Germany for medical treatment.

Dr Olivet Buck, the fourth doctor to die of Ebola in the West African country died hours after the request to WHO was turned down, Chief Medical Officer Dr Brima Kargbo confirmed to The Associated Press.

Sierra Leone had requested funds from WHO to transport Buck to Europe, saying the country could not afford to lose another doctor. But WHO had said it could not meet the request but instead would work to give Buck “the best care possible” in Sierra Leone, including possible access to experimental drugs.

More than 300 health workers have become infected with Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nearly half of them have died, according to WHO.

The infections have exacerbated shortages of doctors and nurses in West African countries that were already low on skilled health personnel.

So far, only foreign health and aid workers have been evacuated abroad from Sierra Leone and Liberia for treatment.

Dr Sheik Humarr Khan, Sierra Leone’s top Ebola doctor, was being considered for evacuation to a European country when he died of the disease in late July.