US doctor battling Ebola in Liberia is praying to God to help him

An American doctor working in Liberia is in grave condition after having contracted the deadly Ebola virus while in the West African country. Doctor Kent Brantly, who works to help Ebola patients, is now fighting for his life in an isolation united on the outskirts of Monrovia.

Brantly’s prognosis is very grave and efforts to evacuate him to Europe for treatment have been in vain because Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has closed the country’s borders. “I’m praying fervently that God will help me survive this disease,” Brantly said in an email Monday.

Another American aid worker, by the name of Nancy Writebol, tested positive for the Ebola virus at the very same hospital according to a relief group official. Doctor Brantly asked that prayers be extended to Writebol as well, who worked as the personnel coordinator for Serving in Mission (SIM) in Monrovia. Writebol is currently in stable, but serious condition. “She is showing full symptoms of the disease,” a spokesperson said.

Doctor Brantly had previously worked as a family practice physician in Fort Worth, Texas before travelling to Liberia as a part of a post-residency program for doctors by the Christian charity, Samaritan’s Purse.

The relief group’s vice president of program and government relations has said the fact that health care workers have been infected highlights the severity of the outbreak in West Africa 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 virus is extremely contagious and is one of the most deadly diseases in the world. According to the World Health Organization, this outbreak is the largest one ever recorded, having killed more than 670 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea in just a few months. Health workers in particular are at serious risk of contracting the disease.

Read more about the story at The Guardian.