A prominent Liberian doctor “openly mocked the existence of Ebola” by trying to enter a hospital isolation ward with no gloves or protective clothing.  The doctor and another man who accompanied him to the hospital were both died within five days.

This chilling testimony from Ken Isaacs of the US religious charity Samaritan’s Purse illustrates how unprepared and uninformed West Africa was as the Ebola Outbreak took hold.  The group has been active in supplying doctors and volunteers against the West African Ebola outbreak.  Two of them caught Ebola and had to be airlifted back to the US for treatment.

Speaking before a hearing in the US Congress lower house, Isaacs said that it is his belief that the UN World Health Organization’s (WHO) reporting of 932 Ebola deaths, with 1,711 confirmed and suspected cases, is West Africa is way too low.

“Our epidemiologists and medical personnel believe that these numbers represent 25 to 50 percent of what is happening,” Isaacs said.  “It is clear to say that the disease is uncontained and it is out of control in West Africa.  The international response to the disease has been a failure and it is important to understand that.”

Isaacs disputed claims by the US Agency for International Development that it had sent 35,000 protective isolation suits for healthcare workers in West Africa (this is what USAID does instead).  Just before testifying, he received a desperate plea via email for more personal protection for Liberia’s seriously under equipped hospitals.

Liberia needs those suits, because there are literally Ebola-infected bodies in the streets of Monrovia.  The virus is most frequently spread during the handling of corpses, with their fluids spilling out all over the place.  Liberian soldiers erected roadblocks to prevent travel between the capital Monrovia and Grand Cape Mount province, one of the worst-affected areas. 

Public sector doctors in Nigeria suspended a strike to get back to work after Ebola killed two people in Lagos: A Liberian-American businessman and a nurse who treated him.  Five more people are infected. 

In Sierra Leone, troops put a quarantine around two towns while nightclubs and entertainment venues across the country were ordered shut.