 |
|
Ten doctors in Sierra Leone have died and hundreds of
other health workers have been affected [EPA]
|
Another Sierra Leone doctor has died from Ebola, the 10th to
succumb to the disease, according to a health official.
Dr Aiah Solomon Konoyeima's death on Saturday, as confirmed by Brima
Kargbo, the country's chief medical officer, came a day after two other doctors
died from Ebola.
Konoyeima worked at a children's hospital in the capital Freetown and
tested positive for Ebola about two weeks ago.
He was treated at the Hastings Ebola Treatment Centre, which is
staffed exclusively by Sierra Leone medical personnel, as compared to many
other treatment units, which are run by international organizations or
employ some foreign staff.
Because Ebola is transmitted through the bodily fluids of the sick
and dead, it is sometimes called the "caretakers' disease".
Hundreds of health workers have been infected in this outbreak.
In another Ebola-related development, the African Union has launched a
new text-message campaign an effort to raise funds.
People are being encouraged to text "Stop Ebola". Each
text costs around U$1, and the money is meant to go towards combating the virus.
People across the continent can now contribute to the Ebola fund by
simply sending a text message to donate.
"It's a service where customers can simply send an SMS message to 7979
with the words 'Stop Ebola' and then they would make a donation of 100 naira
and all of that money, with no deductions, will go to the African Union fund to
eradicate Ebola," said Matthew Wilshere, CEO of Etisalat, a multinational
telecommunication carrier.
The African Union Commission has so far raised more than US$20m in
donations through its hashtag "#AfricaAgainstEbola" campaign, but its
chairperson says more is still needed.
In the current outbreak, Ebola has infected more than 17,500
people, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Of those, about 6,200 have
died. It is currently spreading fastest in Sierra Leone.
No comments:
Post a Comment