Sheik Umar Khan, a leading doctor fighting Ebola, dies from the disease

Sheik Umar Khan, a leading doctor fighting Ebola, dies from the disease
(Image credit: Twitter.com/Reuters)

Dr. Sheik Umar Khan, the most prominent physician working with Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, died Tuesday from the disease. He was 39.

The news was confirmed by the country's chief medical officer. "It is a big and irreparable loss to Sierra Leone as he was the only specialist the country had in viral hemorrhagic fevers," Dr. Brima Kargbo said. The Independent reports that Khan contracted the disease last week, and was in quarantine. Before falling ill, he had treated more than 100 patients at a Kenema hospital.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.