Feature: Kenyan doctors help fellow Africans in Ebola-hit West Africa

Susan Korir arrived in Nairobi on Sunday on an early morning flight from Liberia where she worked as a clinical officer as part of the African Union Team that has been combating Ebola outbreak since January.

The Kenyan medic said her decision to go to Liberia was fueled by her desire to assist fellow Africans who were being ravaged by the Ebola Virus.

"I wanted to be part of the history in the fight against an infectious disease," she told Xinhua after arriving in Nairobi where they managed to contain the disease through infection prevention.

"Our efforts finally resulted in Liberia being declared Ebola free in May after staying for 42 days without a single case of the virus," she said.

Korir was one of 170 Kenyan health workers who were dispatched to Liberia and Sierra Leone in January as part of Kenya's contribution to the fight against the spread of the virus.

Kenya sent 92 health professionals consisting of doctors, nurses and clinicians to Liberia and another to 78 Sierra Leone.

Other nations which contributed to the African Support to Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) include Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa.

The clinician noted that the knowledge she acquired while working at a Kenyan hospital came in handy during her sojourn in Liberia's capital Monrovia.

Nasri Mohammed, who was also stationed in Liberia, said the Kenyan team stood out due to the team's efficiency and good personal communications skills.

"The patients in the hospitals would often ask to be treated by a Kenyan. They hoped that the Kenyan medics would stay longer," she added.

Mohammed said the disease spreads through contact and the volunteers from Kenya and other nations ensured they stopped the transmission of the virus through proper diagnosis and isolation of patients.

Joyce Osongo, the World Health Organization (WHO) Kenya Disease Prevention and Control Officer, said that Kenya displayed a true friendship spirit by supporting other countries in need.

Onsongo said that the assistance was a good example of the South-South collaboration, adding that the Kenyan team that went to West Africa has brought back firsthand capacity to fight Ebola and other infectious diseases.

"They are resources people, who are now part of regional experts on disease surveillance and treatment," Onsongo said.

First reported in March 2014, the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia was the largest ever recorded.

Onsongo noted that while the disease was intensive in the three countries, it also affected the U.S., Britain, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. As of June 14, a total of 27,341 cases and 11,184 deaths due to Ebola were reported.

Kenyan medical team leader in Liberia Shikanga Otipo said that even before the Ebola outbreak, Liberia's health system was very weak, and Kenya health professionals were deployed in six hospitals in the country.

"So the Kenyan medics bridged the gap and helped to reverse the trend of growing number of Ebola deaths and infections," he said.

Otipo noted that the returnees will help to operationalize Kenya's own Ebola Treatment Unit even though the East African nation is yet to report a single case of the disease. Endi