A tribute to Sheik Humarr Khan and all the healthcare workers in West Africa who have sacrificed in the fight against Ebola virus disease: Mae we hush

Abstract

The Kenema Government Hospital Lassa Fever Ward in Sierra Leone, directed since 2005 by Dr. Sheikh Humarr Khan, is the only medical unit in the world devoted exclusively to patient care and research of a viral hemorrhagic fever. When Ebola virus disease unexpectedly appeared in West Africa in late 2013 and eventually spread to Kenema, Khan and his fellow healthcare workers remained at their posts, providing care to patients with this devastating illness. Khan and the chief nurse, Mbalu Fonnie, became infected and died at the end of July, a fate that they have sadly shared with more than ten other healthcare workers in Kenema and hundreds across the region. This article pays tribute to Sheik Humarr Khan, Mbalu Fonnie and all the healthcare workers who have acquired Ebola virus disease while fighting the epidemic in West Africa. Besides the emotional losses, the death of so many skilled and experienced healthcare workers will severely impair health care and research in affected regions, which can only be restored through dedicated, long-term programs.

Keywords: Ebola virus; Ebola virus disease; Lassa fever; Obituary; Sierra Leone; Viral hemorrhagic fever.