No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeEbolaCuban man sent to fight Ebola in Guinea dies of malaria

Cuban man sent to fight Ebola in Guinea dies of malaria

ICYMI: No need to declare emergency over Ebola threat, says health official

CONAKRY, Guinea – A Cuban man working in Guinea to help battle the killer Ebola virus has died of malaria, the west African nation said on Monday.

Jorge Juan Guerra Rodríguez, 60, was working as an administrator with a team of Cuban medical personnel sent to west Africa this month to stem the spread of the virus.

He died of cerebral malaria on Sunday after he tested negative for Ebola, the Guinean government’s Ebola response coordinator Sakoba Keita and Cuban officials told AFP.

“He will be buried here in Conakry on Tuesday, in accordance with the instructions of the Cuban Foreign Ministry,” Keita said.

Cuba’s health ministry said Rodríguez had not been in contact with treatment centers or with Ebola patients, but he was given two tests for Ebola, both of which were negative.

He was initially treated for diarrhea, a symptom of both malaria and Ebola, before his health rapidly deteriorated.

“In the early morning hours, … his health was worsening, and eventually he suffered multi-organ failure and died in the afternoon,” Cuba’s Health Ministry said.

The economist, from Sancti Spiritus in central Cuba, traveled to Guinea on Oct. 6 and began showing signs of illness on Oct. 22.

Cuba has sent 256 health professionals — including 83 doctors and nurses — to Ebola-stricken west Africa to help combat the spread of the deadly epidemic.

The virus has already killed more than 4,900 people, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Malaria kills hundreds of thousands of people around the world each year, mainly children in sub-Saharan Africa.

Both ailments have similar symptoms, including fever, aches, vomiting and diarrhea, but Ebola is passed by bodily fluids, while malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes.

Cuba’s response to the Ebola epidemic has won plaudits from humanitarian workers who say the international community’s reaction has been lacking.

Eventually, Cuba plans to deploy more than 450 medical personnel in west Africa.

Trending Now

Costa Rica Maintains Economic Stability Amid Global Tensions

Costa Rica is holding steady economically despite global tensions sparked by conflicts involving Israel, the United States, and Iran, according to Federico Quesada Chaves,...

Costa Rica Surf Film Festival Honors ‘Pura Vida Bodysurfing’ with Top Audience Award

Pura Vida Bodysurfing is an award-winning short film that strips surfing back to its essence—riding waves without a surfboard. Filmed across Costa Rica’s legendary...

Costa Rica Court Moves to Lift President Chaves’ Immunity

Costa Rica’s Supreme Court of Justice on Tuesday asked Congress — for the first time in the history of this country with a well-established...

Guatemala Offers Asylum to Nicaraguan Migrants Deported by U.S.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo announced on Friday that his country will grant asylum to Nicaraguan migrants deported by the United States who do not...

Costa Rica Hunts for Nicaraguan Hit Squad After Exile’s Assassination

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) is investigating whether a hit squad tied to Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime is targeting exiled critics on its soil....

An Expat’s Take: 5 Burning Questions About Life in Costa Rica Right Now

Have you been keeping up with the various events taking place in Costa Rica? There is always something interesting going down, and here are...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica