{UAH} Another Ugandan doctor dies of Ebola

Another Ugandan doctor dies of Ebola
Publish Date: Oct 10, 2014

A newly arrived patient suspected of suffering from the Ebola virus sits on the ground at Island Hospital in Monrovia recently

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newvision

By John Agaba

 

Another Ugandan doctor, John Taban Dada, has died of Ebola in West Africa. Dada, a gynaecologist and surgeon, died Sunday morning in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

 

The health ministry confirmed the death, but said Dada was not among the 20 health workers sent to fight Ebola in West Africa.

 

"We shall call Liberia and find out. Some organisations are recruiting people without consulting us," said Dr. Jane Aceng, the director general of health services.

 

Dada is the second Ugandan doctor to die of Ebola in Liberia, after Dr. Samuel Muhumuza Mutooro,who died in July. Last week, another Ugandan, Dr. Michael Mawanda, a paediatrician, was flown to Germany for specialised treatment after he was diagnosed with Ebola in the neighbouring Sierra Leone.

 

He is still undergoing treatment. All three had been working in the respective West African countries under different international medical aid agencies before the outbreak.

 

A health workers writes the name of a doctor on his protective suit

 

Various news agencies quoted the Liberian health minister, Tolbert Nyenswah, as saying Dada would be immediately buried on Sunday, in accordance with the policy of quick burial of Ebola victims.

 

So far, four doctors have died of Ebola in Liberia, of whom two are Ugandan.

 

Ebola has killed more than 3,800 people since it broke out in West Africa, including more than 200 health workers, according to the latest World Health Organisation figures.

 

The majority of those deaths have been in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Colleagues said Dada had been working at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Centre, the largest hospital in Liberia.

 

He served as the medical director of the Redemption Hospital in Monrovia from 2008 to 2013, before moving on to take up the assignment at the country's largest hospital.

 

Health workers stand next to newly arrived patients suspected of suffering from Ebola at Island Hospital 

 

Dr. Atai Omoruto, a Ugandan doctor heading the newest Ebola treatment centre at what used to be Island Clinic in the western suburbs of the city, expressed shock at the death of Dada, describing him as a very quiet and dedicated man.

 

"I did not know he has passed on; it is unfortunate that we are still losing so many health workers," she told AP.

 

"This Ebola really ... it has come for the health workers," she said, "because right now at Island Clinic, we have almost 10 health workers admitted, including doctors from JFK and laboratory technicians and nurses."

 

Meanwhile, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the US, Thomas Eric Duncan, died on Wednesday in Dallas.

 

And the health of the Spanish nurse, Teresa Romero, who is the fi rst person to contract Ebola outside of West Africa, has deteriorated.

 

Agencies said Teresa Romero is now being helped to breathe. Two doctors who treated her have also been admitted for observation.

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower

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