Students from the entire world, inchuding the US, have been educated in Cuba

[Judi Lynn]

4. Cuban. Doctor. Ebola survivor

14 April 2015
Dr Felix Sarria Baez was one of hundreds of Cuban doctors sent as a Foreign Medical Team to support the Ebola response in West Africa in October 2014. While working there, he contracted Ebola himself. He survived and returned to Sierra Leone to further help Ebola patients. Below is his story.



Dr Felix Sarria Baez, Cuban doctor, returns to Sierra Leone after recovering from Ebola.

"It’s been like coming back from a war, alive. My companeros shouted, smiled, cried and hugged me," Dr Felix Sarria Baez reflected on his return to Sierra Leone after recovering from Ebola.

Dr Felix told his story on a hot, dusty hotel patio in Port Loko, a 2-hour drive from the capital Freetown. He was wearing a new WHO polo, a gift when he came back to Sierra Leone. All his other clothes were destroyed in November 2014 when he was diagnosed with Ebola. "It’s good to come back. I needed to come back," he explains. "Ebola is a challenge that I must fight to the finish here, to keep it from spreading to the rest of the world."

Becoming infected

"I don't know how I got infected. There was no violation of protocols," he explains, describing sweat "like a river" from the layers of heat-retaining safety garments that cause body surface temperatures to rise to 40 degrees centigrade (104 Fahrenheit). This is significantly higher than normal body temperature of 37° C (98.6 F) and can only be withstood for 40 to 60 minutes. WHO provided rigorous safety training and mentoring to the Cuban Medical Brigade and other foreign medical teams before starting work in the Ebola treatment centers.

Dr Felix remembers clearly the day he first felt ill. "It started Sunday morning with a fever of 38 and then 39.5° C (100.4 to 103.1 F). I lost my appetite all day, but I didn’t feel weak or have any pain," he recounted.

"On Monday, I went to Kerry Town Treatment Unit, where there is a special ward for health care workers. I developed a cough that lasted throughout my illness. My white blood cell count and platelets fell fast. At 8 p.m. the test result came back positive for Ebola." White blood cells fight infection and platelets help blood clot. Without them, the body risks succumbing more quickly to Ebola.

More:
https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/cuban.-doctor.-ebola-survivor