By: cnn.com
A doctor who was on the front lines fighting
the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone has died
from complications of the disease, Doctors
Without Borders said on Tuesday.
Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan fell ill early last
week while overseeing Ebola treatment at
Kenema Government Hospital, about 185
miles east of Sierra Leone's capital city,
Freetown. He was treated by the French aid
group Medecins Sans Frontieres also known
as Doctors Without Borders in Kailahun,
Sierra Leone, up until his death, spokesman
Tim Shenk said.
A University of Sierra Leone graduate, Khan
worked for that African country's Ministry of
Health and Sanitation, including as head of
the Lassa fever program at Kenema
Government Hospital, according to the Viral
Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium.
Lassa fever
is a virus common in west Africa, the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
notes.
While in that latter post, Khan contracted
with the United Nations Mission in Sierra
Leone, consulted with the World Health
Organization/Tulane University on its Mano
River Union Lassa fever network and was
physician-in-charge of his hospital's HIV/
AIDS program.
Khan continued his training in Ghana from
2010 to 2013, before returning to head the
Kenema Government Hospital's Lassa fever
program and becoming a lecturer at the
University of Sierra Leone. The Viral
Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium described
him as "one of the world's leading experts
in the clinical care of viral hemorrhagic
fevers" among them, Ebola.
This disease typically kills 90% of those
infected, but the death rate in this outbreak
has dropped to roughly 60% because of
early treatment. The outbreak is happening
primarily in three West African countries:
Guinea, where it began, Liberia and Sierra
Leone.
As of July 23, the World Health Organization
had confirmed more than 800 Ebola cases
in the region, but it suspects there have
been many unreported infections and there
may be as many as 1,200 cases. Sierra
Leone has been hardest hit, with
approximately 525 cases.
"Dr. Khan was an extremely determined and
courageous doctor who cared deeply for his
patients," Doctors Without Borders said in a
statement .
"His work and dedication have been greatly
appreciated by the medical community in
Sierra Leone for many years. He will be
remembered and missed by many,
especially by the doctors and nurses that
worked with him. MSF's sincere thoughts
and condolences are with Dr. Khan's family,
friends and colleagues."
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