Ebola Outbreak 2014 Update: Cuban Doctor Cured of Virus Wants to Return to West Africa to 'Finish' What He 'Started'
A Cuban doctor who was treated in Geneva after contracting the Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone last month said he intends on returning to the West African country.
Reuters reported that Felix Baez, 43, recently returned to his home in Cuba after being released from Geneva where he was treated with an experimental drug. He was admitted on Nov. 20.
BBC reported Baez was treated with ZMab, a precursor to the ZMapp experimental drug from a California-based firm, as well as an untested Japanese flu drug.
Baez showed signs of recovery after two days, and the same drug was sent to cure a doctor in Rome, Reuters reported.
The untested Japanese drug, favipiravir, was made by Japan's Fujifilm and has been included on a list of potential Ebola treatments by the World Health Organization.
Baez told reporters at Havana's José Martí International Airport that he intends on going back to Sierra Leone, but it is unclear whether or not Cuban health officials will allow him to return.
"I will finish what I started. I am returning to Sierra Leone," Baez said.
Cuba has been praised internationally for its efforts in the fight against Ebola, which has already killed at least 6,000 in the affected countries. The three countries include Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
At least 200 Cuban doctors and nurses are on standby for an Ebola assignment in West Africa, in addition to the 256 who were already sent.
But the efforts come with a high risk of fatality, especially in Sierra Leone.
Out of 138 health care works who contracted the disease in Sierra Leone, 106 have died. The fatality rate is significantly lower in neighboring Guinea and Liberia, where the virus continues to affect the residents, the WHO said.
Two other African countries had previously reported cases, but the outbreak has since been controlled in Nigeria and Senegal.
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