Opinion: I saw Ebola as both doctor and patient. I wish people cared more about the Africans I worked alongside
The article discusses the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and highlights the challenges faced by local health care workers. The author, an infectious diseases physician, reflects on her experiences treating Ebola patients and later becoming a suspected patient herself. She emphasizes the need for greater recognition of the suffering of local health care workers compared to the attention given to Western aid workers.
- ▪A new Ebola outbreak is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with hundreds of infections and deaths reported.
- ▪Local health care workers are facing overstretched hospitals and limited resources while caring for patients.
- ▪The author shares her personal experience of treating Ebola patients and later becoming a suspected patient herself.
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OpinionFirst Opinion I saw Ebola as both doctor and patient. I wish people cared more about the Africans I worked alongside My experience taught me whose suffering gets seen — and whose does not Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article A sign warning of the dangers of Ebola outside a government hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in August 2014. A new Ebola outbreak is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with hundreds of infections and deaths reported.CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images By Krutika KuppalliMay 20, 2026 Kuppalli is an infectious diseases physician in Dallas with extensive experience with Ebola. Amid another Ebola outbreak, hundreds of Africans are sick, displaced, fearful, or dead.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at STAT.
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