Partners In Health Clinician Admitted for Ebola Treatment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Marvin, Media Relations Manager
jmarvin@pih.org

BOSTON (Mar. 12, 2015)— A Partners In Health clinician working in Sierra Leone has tested positive for the Ebola virus. Our colleague remains in good spirits and has been transferred to the United States for treatment.

Out of respect for the privacy of our colleague and their family, we cannot release additional information at this time. PIH is providing full accompaniment to our colleague’s family. We ask that the media and public respect the family’s privacy.

This is the first clinician deployed with PIH to be diagnosed with Ebola as a result of a confirmed occupational exposure since PIH began treating patients in Liberia and Sierra Leone in November 2014.

PIH is following its established protocols to ensure the safety of our staff and patients, and all clinical staff are formally trained in infection control following CDC guidelines. However, we are reminded every day that Ebola has been, from the very beginning, a disease of caregivers.

We are proud of all of our clinicians at sites across the world—especially those who have fallen ill in the line of duty—and will seek to ensure that we do our very best to protect them and our patients.

PIH is making every effort to provide the best possible support for all of our Ebola response colleagues as our work in West Africa continues. PIH has 2,000 employees working in West Africa, including 600 Ebola survivors and 100 expat clinicians currently deployed to the region.

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