Ebola strikes doctor at Phebe

A doctor at the Phebe Hospital in Bong County has been tested positive of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, barely a month after a head doctor at the Redemption Hospital in the Borough of New Kru Town died of the disease at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Monrovia.

The doctor, whose name has not been disclosed was transferred to Monrovia along with four nurses, three of which died yesterday. The doctor and nurses were said to have come in contact with an Ebola patient from Lofa County, who had earlier told health workers at the hospital that she resides in Gbarnga, Bong County.

The doctor was eventually diagnosed positive after specimen from his body was brought to Monrovia for testing  days after coming in contact with the suspected Ebola patient and nurses who had earlier been infected by the virus.

The doctor, also a lecturer at the Cuttington University in Suakoko, Bong County, is being quarantined by health authorities for additional days to monitor his status. The latest incident from the Phebe Hospital has increased panic among health workers, with many of them expressing fear for their lives on the job.

In Monrovia, several hospitals have shut their doors to the public, including Redemption Hospital and the James Davies Memorial Hospital in Nee-Zoe community, Paynesville after nurses and doctors refused to report for work.

Health workers here lack protective garments to handle suspected Ebola patients so much so that several nurses have contracted the virus while attending to patients and subsequently died of the disease. The Government of Liberia has complained of lack of funds to equip health facilities across the country with protective garments for health workers.

Meanwhile, angry residents Wednesday protested before the ELWA Hospital along the Monrovia-Robertsfield highway demanding the hospital authorities to remove an Ebola testing center at its premises. According to the protesters, the virus is deadly and its cases should be isolated. Authorities at the ELWA Hospital declined to speak to the media on the protesters’ claim.