This article originally appeared in the blog Vital
By Mohamed Jallow, IntraHealth International
"I fear for my life, I have to say, because I appreciate my life," said Dr. Sheikh Omar Khan, one of the leading medical fight against the spread of the Ebola virus in eastern Sierra Leone.
Last week, Dr. Khan fears reality when he diagnosed with the disease Ebola. Succumbed to the deadly disease yesterday and died in the same hospital in Kenema, where a few weeks ago was treated in the neighboring community of Kailahun patients.
Mr. Khan is one of a growing list of health care workers who were infected during the fighting against the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa.
In Sierra Leone, 40 nurses and other health care workers on the front line were killed in the performance of their duties.
In neighboring Liberia, have two doctors-Dr. Samuel prominent Brisbane, a doctor in Liberia, and Mr. Kent Brantley, an American doctor from North Carolina to work for Samaritan Purse with the disease have been infected while treating patients.
Losing Dr. Kahn is an invaluable loss to Sierra Leone. According to the Ministry of Health, who has treated more than 100 people since the first reports of the Ebola outbreak in February.
The disease has a mortality rate of up to 90% and cost the lives of over 600 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The health system in Sierra Leone and underfunded and understaffed, and now the Ebola outbreak puts pressure on limited resources.
Liberia and Guinea, the answer is flooded to the Ebola virus, disrupted their health systems and cross-border activities, wholesale border communities buoy rescue.
Liberia has closed its borders with Guinea and Sierra Leone and increased surveillance at airports.
According to the World Health Organization, Sierra Leone is one of the 83 countries that are facing a personal crisis. The increasing number of deaths of health workers will worsen the already precarious. The impact of the epidemic persist long after the epidemic is under control.
In addition, the reputation of the health of workers is taking a shot. Sierra Leone is full of rumors that health workers infected patients and families, sometimes violently attacked hospital staff and relatives kidnapped hospitals. This is, of course, contribute to the spread of the disease in other parts of the country.
The long-term consequence of this is that the health system in Sierra Leone further by weakening important life-saving interventions, especially for services in pregnancy and the newborn, offsetting gains, and access to care, treatment and prevention of common diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV / AIDS.