Canadian doctor on front lines treating Ebola patients in West Africa
Published Friday, April 11, 2014 10:03PM EDT
Last Updated Friday, April 11, 2014 11:35PM EDT
A Canadian doctor is on the front lines in West Africa where health officials are fighting to contain the spread of the deadly Ebola disease in one of the worst outbreaks experienced in years.
Dr. Tim Jagatic is working 12-hour days with Doctors Without Borders in an isolation unit run by the health ministry in Conakry, Guinea -- an Ebola hot zone.
Jagatic, a 33-year-old Windsor, Ont., native, says six of the 18 Ebola patients who have been treated at his clinic have died.
And while the disease is thought to kill about 90 per cent of its victims, Jagatic says he's encouraged by the seven patients he's treated that have walked out of the clinic virus-free.
"Seven of the patients I have seen so far have been discharged," Jagatic told CTV News from Conakry. "They have been able to eradicate the virus from their bodies completely, and they've left."
While there's no cure for Ebola, Jagatic, a tropical disease specialist, said providing the ill with food, fluids and antibiotics to treat secondary infections and symptoms increases the patients' chance of surviving.
He said about half of the patients who are seeking treatment when the disease is in its early stages are able to survive the disease.
"You're really able to change their lives and make things better," he said. It's just personal gratification."
Earlier this week the World Health Organization said there have been 157 suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola in Guinea, where 101 people have died. Liberia has recorded 21 cases and 10 deaths.
The WHO has described the spread of the Ebola in West Africa as one of the most challenging outbreaks of the diseases the international community has ever faced.
The initial symptoms of Ebola include diarrhea and fever. The highly infectious virus attacks the patient’s immune system and causes hemorrhagic fever.
The virus is spread from the blood of infected wild animals that are sold for meat and from touching the bodies of those who have died of Ebola.
To protect himself from the disease, Jagatic wears full protective gear.
"We cover ourselves head to toe," he said. "We wear gloves, masks, and goggles as well and try to completely eliminate the risk of any contamination."
Jagatic said it's important for the medical community to spread the word that the disease is treatable.
"The success is dependent on how quickly people come (to seek medical help)," he said.
With a report from CTV's medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip