Two Doctors, One Infected, Recall Their Fight Against Ebola

The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has brought renewed attention to global outbreak preparedness and the perilous conditions frontline healthcare workers face.

This MedPage Today interview brings together Kent Brantly, MD, who contracted the virus while serving as medical director of an Ebola treatment unit in Liberia, and Linda Mobula, MD, MPH, the physician who treated him. They discuss the harrowing realities of the 2014 West African outbreak, and the nerve-wracking decision to administer an untested, experimental dose of ZMapp in hopes of pulling him back from the brink.

The following is a transcript of their remarks:

Kent Brantly, MD: I remember saying to the nurse who was at my bedside, "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, and I don't know how you're going to breathe for me when I quit breathing."

Shannon Firth: Hi there. My name is Shannon Firth. I'm a reporter with MedPage Today. In 2014, Ebola hit West Africa, and from 2014 to 2016, more than 11,000 people died.