READ: Doctors And Their Battle With Deadly Ebola Virus
According to Mail Online;
A doctor who has fought the Ebola virus in Liberia where it infected two American doctors today gave a terrifying insight into how medics put their fears aside and their lives on the line to treat patients in the current outbreak taking a grip in Africa.
Doctor Hannah Spencer revealed how she wills herself to feel safe inside a boiling hot air-sealed Hazmat suit – her only barrier between her and catching an invisible killer that kills 90 per cent of those who are infected.
Dr Spencer, who is British, volunteered for medical charity Doctors Without Borders in Guinea and Liberia – the crucible of the current outbreak which has killed more than 600 and infected around 1,200.
She spoke out after two Americans, Dr Kent Brantly, 33, and Nancy Writebol, 60, contracted Ebola
and are fighting for their lives to explain the risks, the courage, the physical toll and fear endured by doctors battling to contain the virus from killing more.
To minimise the risk of infection they have to wear thick rubber boots that come up to their knees, an impermeable body suit, gloves, a face mask, a hood and goggles to ensure no air at all can touch their skin.
Dr Spencer, 27, and her colleagues lose up to five litres of sweat during a shift treating victims and have to spend two hours rehydrating afterwards.
They are only allowed to work for between four and six weeks in the field because the conditions are so gruelling.
At their camp they go through multiple decontaminations which includes spraying chlorine on their shoes.
Dr Spencer, who is from Surrey in the UK, said that she signed up to help Doctors Without Borders for three weeks after hearing about the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa.
First she went to Guinea where she worked in an isolation ward and then to a rural clinic in Foya, Liberia, which is not the same location as where the Americans were.
Dr Spencer said: ‘I wouldn’t say I felt completely calm – obviously you have some anxieties before you go. But once you’ve done your first day in the isolation ward, when you’re wearing all the protective gear, you feel safe to work with the patients.
‘It’s difficult working in the protective clothing – it’s very hot, and you can’t spend more than an hour inside it. So when you’ve got a large number of patients, it’s hard to feel that you are spending long enough with each one.
Dr Kent Brantly, 33, and Nancy Writebol, 60: the two doctors who are now fighting for their lives after contracting the diseases from patients
