SIM USA reported Tuesday that one of its missionary doctors in Liberia has tested positive for the Ebola virus.
The American doctor was treating obstetrics patients at SIM’s ELWA hospital in Monrovia. He was not treating Ebola patients in ELWA’s Ebola isolation unit, a facility separate from the main hospital on the mission organization’s 136-acre campus. It is not yet known how the doctor contracted the virus specifically.
Upon onset of the symptoms, the doctor immediately isolated himself and has since been transferred to the ELWA Ebola isolation unit. The doctor is doing well and is in good spirits.
“My heart was deeply saddened, but my faith was not shaken, when I learned another of our missionary doctors contracted Ebola,” said Bruce Johnson, president of SIM USA. “As a global mission, we are surrounding our missionary with prayer, as well as our LiberianSIM/ELWA colleagues, who continue fighting the Ebola epidemic in Liberia. We have gifted Liberian doctors, medical staff and support staff who are carrying on the fight.”
SIM volunteer Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantly, a physician with Samaritan’s Purse, were treated successfully in the United States after contracting Ebola in west Africa and have been released from the hospital in good health.
Click here for the latest updates on SIM’s role in the Ebola epidemic in Liberia.
