American doctor working in Africa infected with Ebola
LIBERIA, West Africa -- An American doctor working in West Africa has been infected with the deadly Ebola virus.
Dr. Kent Brantly has been battling an outbreak, caring for patients inside an isolation center in Liberia while his wife and young children are home in the U.S.
"He's a servant by nature and he's a doctor and when you put all of that together, he's a man who cares about people," said Samaritan's Purse Vice President Ken Isaacs.
The 33-year-old treated Ebola patients in head-to-toe protective gear with not an inch of skin exposed. It's not yet known how he contracted the disease despite such precaution.
This year, the high contagious disease has spread to three West African countries. More than 600 are dead. And now there's a scramble to halt the disease in Lagos, Nigeria, the largest city in all of Africa densely packed.
Health officials say a sick man brought it into the country Tuesday on a plane from Liberia. The other passengers on that flight are being monitored.
"There has never been a time in history when it has spread so fast," said Isaacs. "And these countries do not have the capacity to contain it."
Dr. Brantly's colleagues at the North Carolina-based relief organization Samaritan's Purse are calling for more international assistance for the African countries battling Ebola and calling for prayer for one of their own.
In this outbreak, 62 percent of infected people have died.
Melissa Strickland is a spokeswoman for Samaritan's Purse. She said Sunday that Brantly was in stable condition, talking with his doctors and working on his computer while receiving care.
She cautions, however, that he is not out of the woods. Strickland says patients have a better chance of survival if they receive treatment immediately after being infected, which Brantly did.
Brantly has been working with Samaritan's Purse in Liberia since October 2013 as part of the group's post-residency program for doctors.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
