Sheik Umnar Khan
The President's office announced today that the Chief Doctor leading the fight against the Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone has contracted the disease. Sheik Umnar Khan, a 39-year-old virologist who is personally credited with treating more than 100 Ebola victims, has now been taken to an Ebola ward run by the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, which has in recent weeks described the disease’s West African outbreak as “out of control”. The outbreak began in Guinea and has spread to both Liberia and Sierra Leone.
There is no specific cure for Ebola and the disease is normally fatal in 90% of cases. However in the current outbreak 40% of those infected have survived.
Dr. Khan said recently, “Health workers are prone to the disease because we are the first port of call for somebody who is sickened by disease. Even with the full protective clothing you put on, you are at risk.”
The current advise for travellers from the British Foreign Office in view of the Ebola outbreak is
"The World Health Organization does not recommend any travel restrictions to Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone at this time [2,9]. There has never been a case of EVD imported into the United Kingdom [10].
Public Health England (PHE) advises that the risk to tourists, visitors or expatriate residents in affected areas is considered very low if elementary precautions are followed [11]"
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