Sierra Leone has lost a fourth doctor to Ebola after a failed effort to transfer her abroad for medical treatment, a government official said Sunday. The loss is a huge setback to the impoverished country, which is battling the virulent disease amid a shortage of health-care workers.
Dr. Olivet Buck died late Saturday, hours after the World Health Organization said it could not help medically evacuate her to Germany, Sierra Leone’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brima Kargbo confirmed to The Associated Press.
Sierra Leone had requested funds from the WHO to transport Buck to Europe, saying the country could not afford to lose another doctor.
WHO had said it could not meet the request, but instead would work to give Buck “the best care possible” in Sierra Leone, including possible access to experimental drugs.