An American physician working with the missionary organization SIM USA in Liberia has tested positive for Ebola, according to the Washington Post.
Another American doctor infected with Ebola
The unnamed missionary doctor was treating obstetrics patients at the organization’s ELWA hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, and was not working with Ebola patients in the facility’s isolation unit, which is separate from the main hospital, according to a news release from the organization. He isolated himself immediately upon developing symptoms and has been transferred to the Ebola isolation unit.
This doctor is now the fourth American to test positive for Ebola in the current outbreak, which has killed more than 1,500 people (nearly all Africans) to date. That’s more than the total number of people killed by all other Ebola outbreaks combined since the first in 1976.
Two other American medical missionary volunteers, Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, were recently released from Emory University Hospital after being treated for the Ebola virus, which they had contracted in Liberia.
Patrick Sawyer, an American-Liberian, died from Ebola in July after contracting the disease in Liberia.
By Julia Belluz and Alex Ward
