A particular distinction for a particular fight. The “Ebola fighters” are elected “personality of the year” 2014. They succeed Pope Francis (2013) and Barack Obama (2012). This distinction sounds like a tribute to doctors, aid workers and nurses. This mass of anonymous people who work in the shadows on a daily basis to care for patients suffering from Ebola hemorrhagic feverand prevent the spread of the virus.
“They took risks and persisted, made sacrifices and saved” lives, explained editor Nancy Gibbs.
Healthcare workers in contact with Ebola cases are particularly exposed to the risk of transmission of the virus. The World Health Organization carried out an initial assessment last August. She had counted 240 cases of Ebola including 120 fatal victims among healthcare workerson mission in countries affected by Ebola (Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia). A figure that is certainly higher today, given the progression of the epidemic.
To explain this vulnerability of medical personnel, the WHO pointed to several risk factors: the lack of medical infrastructure, the shortage of personal protective equipment (masks and gloves), and an overload of doctors’ work.
>> To read also: Ebola: update on the epidemic
