A Victoria doctor who was part of a medical group that travelled to Liberia earlier this month to treat victims of the Ebola virus has returned home, while two of his U.S. colleagues fight for their lives against the deadly virus.
Dr. Azaria Marthyman was part of a 14-member team sent by Christian relief agency Samaritan's Purse to provide clinical care as a renewed outbreak of Ebola ravages West Africa.
On Saturday, the charity issued a news release saying that one of Marthyman's colleagues,?Dr. Kent Brantly of the U.S., had tested positive for the virus and was being treated in isolation in Liberia.
On Sunday, Serving In Mission (SIM) — another charity that works closely with Samaritan's Purse — said that Nancy Writebol, an American who was part of the joint SIM/Samaritan's Purse team had also tested positive for Ebola and was being treated in the same isolation centre as Brantly.
Marthyman is reported to have placed himself in?voluntary quarantine?on his return.
Dr. Azaria Marthyman wearing protective medical clothing as part of his work with Ebola patients. (samaritanspurse.ca)"Azaria is symptom-free right now and there is no chance of being contagious with Ebola if you are not exhibiting symptoms," spokeswoman for Samaritan's Purse, Melissa Strickland, told CTV Vancouver Island.
According to the World Heath Organization, the incubation period for the virus is two to 21 days.
The fast-acting Ebola virus, which first appeared in 1976, produces a violent hemorrhagic fever that leads to internal and external bleeding. The infection is transmitted by direct contact with blood, body fluids and tissues of infected people or animals.
As of July 23, the number of Ebola cases in West Africa reached 1,201, with 672 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
This Ebola outbreak is the largest in history, with deaths in?Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria blamed on the virus. There is no vaccine and no specific treatment.
CBC News sought to interview Martyman by email about his experiences in Liberia fighting Ebola, but he declined.
"I regret to inform you that I am declining all requests for media interviews," the email reads.? "The situation in Liberia is changing rapidly, and I don't have the most up-to-date information. Therefore, to avoid giving out any information that might not be accurate, I am referring all interview requests to our international headquarters, because staff there are closest to the situation in Liberia."
Marthyman posted many updates on the Samaritan's Purse blog while he was in Liberia. On July 24, he posted that he was headed home.
"I am doing very well physically and emotionally, having worked every day since my arrival in Liberia, and today having to say goodbye to so many people," the post read.
Mostly, though, Marthyman used his blog post to tell the story of a young boy named William, the doctor's first Ebola patient in Liberia, who needed to find a home.
"William now needs a home to go to," Marthyman wrote. "He does not have any family to care for him and will be under the ministry’s care. I pray that he will have a loving home to go to. Meeting William today seems to bring some closure to my stay here in Liberia, as I prepare myself to come home to my wife and family."
At least two other British Columbians have travelled to Liberia this month with Samaritan's Purse to fight Ebola. They include?a nurse from Vancouver and a medical technician from Squamish.
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