TheCable

A Cuban doctor working in Sierra Leone has tested positive to Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), officials have said.

According to the Cuban health ministry, Felix Baez Sarria, one of the 165 health workers deployed by Cuba, tested positive while working in the West African country and is due to be transferred to Geneva, Switzerland, for treatment.

He is believed to be the first person from the Latin American country to contract the deadly disease.

Cuba, the country with the largest number of expatriate medical workers fighting the current epidemic, has received widespread praise after sending more than 250 healthcare workers to West Africa, with 200 more still preparing to travel in.

Its efforts have been praised internationally, including by officials in the United States, which has maintained an economic embargo on Cuba for more than five decades due to their sour political relationship.

On September 12, Roberto Morales Ojeda, Cuba’s minister for Public health, said 165 Cuban health workers were to be deployed to West Africa to help fight the virus, and has since sent more than promised.

Cuba has more than 50,000 medical workers in over 60 countries around the world, with many in nations like Brazil that pay hundreds of millions a year for their services, while others are on humanitarian missions that generate goodwill.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 5,000 people have died in the current Ebola outbreak, with over 95 per cent of the casualties from West Africa.