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Sierra Leone doctor dies of Ebola after failed bid to evacuate her

By WTOP Staff

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — A doctor in Sierra Leone has died, hours after a failed effort to transfer her abroad for medical treatment.

A government official in the West African country tells The Associated Press that Dr. Olivet Buck died late yesterday. She is the fourth doctor from Sierra Leone to die of the virus.

Her death came hours after the World Health Organization turned down Sierra Leone’s request for funds to transport Buck to Europe for treatment. WHO said it would instead work to give Buck “the best care possible” in Sierra Leone, including possible access to experimental drugs.

More than 300 health workers have become infected with Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nearly half of them have died, according to WHO.

So far, only foreign health and aid workers have been evacuated abroad from Sierra Leone and Liberia for treatment.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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