â–º Listen Live
â–º Listen Live
HomeNewsUNBC Dr. headed to Africa to fight Ebola

UNBC Dr. headed to Africa to fight Ebola

An Assistant Professor with UNBC is doing his part to help the global community in the fight against the Ebola virus.

Dr. Greg Thomas-Reilly, a specialist in nursing, is leaving Tuesday for Liberia, the country hardest hit by the virus.

“Where I will be working as part of a mission to train national healthcare staff in a very rural, under-serviced part of the country,” he says.

Going from a country without the infection to one under siege by it, he says he will be working in a very “tightly controlled environment”.

- Advertisement -

“In terms of the work that I’m going to be doing, it’s going to be a lot of engaging with national Liberian healthcare staff, infection prevention control training, etcetera,” he explains. “I’ll also be a part of a rapid-response team, if any international healthcare staff in that area of the country become infected.”

With years of training in the field, Thomas-Reilly says he couldn’t “sit on the sidelines” while the infection spread.

He says he’s fascinated by infections diseases, but also has a good dose of fear, which he says is necessary.

“Ebola is definitely not one of the most infections diseases,” he says. “Certainly , things like mumps, and influenza, etcetera, are far more infectious, but Ebola is very fatal.

“Anyone who goes in there with a cavalier attitude of ‘I’m going to go and save Liberia, save the world,’ what have you, with guns-a-blazing, is setting themselves up for disaster and possibly exposing their fellow team members to some risk, as well,” he says.

“You have to go in with a very measured attitude, you have to be very methodical in the work that you do, you have to have respect for the pathogen that you’re working with,” he explains.

Thomas-Reilly has spent his professional career in the field of communicable diseases, having worked in Africa to help fight the spread of AIDS.

- Advertisment -
- Advertisment -
- Advertisement -

Continue Reading