An American doctor is in grave condition after contracting the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa. Dr. Kent Brantly, 33, who works with Ebola patients is now fighting for his own survival in an isolation unit on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia.
"I'm praying fervently that God will help me survive this disease," Brantly said in an email Monday.
Brantly's prognosis is grave and efforts to evacuate him to Europe for treatment have been thwarted as Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has closed border crossings.
A second American aid worker, Nancy Writebol, tested positive for the Ebola virus at the same hospital, a relief group official said Sunday. Brantly also asked that prayers be extended for Writebol, who worked as the personnel coordinator for Serving in Mission, or SIM, in Monrovia, CNN reports. She is reportedly in stable and serious condition.
"She is showing full symptoms of the disease," a spokesperson said. Both Americans have since been isolated and are under intensive treatment.
Brantly has been working with Samaritan's Purse in Liberia since October 2013 as part of the charity's post-residency program for doctors, said the group's spokeswoman Melissa Strickland. The organization's website says he had worked as a family practice physician in Fort Worth, Texas.
Isaacs, the Christian relief group's vice president of program and government relations, said the fact that health care workers have been infected underscores the severity of the West Africa outbreak that has killed hundreds in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
"It's been a shock to everyone on our team to have two of our players get pounded with the disease," said Isaacs, adding health ministries in those poor nations are challenged to respond. "Our team is frankly getting tired."
The highly contagious virus is one of the most deadly diseases in the world. The World Health Organization said the outbreak is the largest ever recorded, killing more than 670 people in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone since it began earlier this year.
Health workers are at serious risk of contracting the disease, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids.
Photos of Brantly working in Liberia show him in white coveralls made of a synthetic material that he wore for hours a day while treating Ebola patients.
Brantly's wife and children had been living with him in Liberia but flew home to the U.S. about a week ago, before the doctor started showing any signs of illness, said Melissa Strickland, a spokeswoman for Samaritan's Purse.
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