Nurse in South Africa dies of Ebola virus
Marilyn Lahana, an operating room nurse at a clinic in South Africa, has become the first person in a major metropolitan area to die from the Ebola virus. Lahana died in the isolation unit of Johannesburg General Hospital's intensive care unit Nov. 24.
She was exposed to the virus while caring for a physician, originally diagnosed with acute viral hepatitis, at the Morningside Clinic near Johannesburg, South Africa. In early November, Lahana became seriously ill and was diagnosed with the virus. The physician, who had already been discharged from the clinic, was found to be the source of the virus. The physician, who works in the West African country of Gabon, is believed to have contracted the virus from a patient. He has recovered from the disease.
A few hours after Lahana died, her husband met with reporters, according to the Independent Online News. Cyril Lahana described his 46-year-old wife as a loving mother and a devoted nurse.
South African President Nelson Mandela has sent the Lahana family his condolences. "Marilyn perished in the course of dedicated duty and in an attempt to save someone else's life. Our sorrow is mixed with admiration of her selfless sacrifice," Mandela wrote, according to the Independent.
South African health officials are assuring the general public they are not at risk. Health care workers and others who have cared for people with the virus are at greatest risk of exposure; about 300 health workers are being monitored for symptoms of the virus.
Ebola can be transmitted through bodily fluids, and it may cause massive internal bleeding, fever and vomiting. The virus -- named after a Zairean river near where the virus first appeared in 1976 -- received international attention last year when it killed 246 of 350 people infected near Kikwit, Zaire.
An official from the World Health Organization is in Johannesburg reviewing the outbreak.
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