MSF: how a humanitarian charity found itself leading the world’s response to Ebola

Caring for patients who are sick, terrified, and sometimes delirious is hard enough. But working flat out in basic facilities and sweltering heat, while constantly aware that one small mistake could lead to care workers becoming infected themselves, makes treating patients with Ebola virus disease in west Africa one of the toughest humanitarian challenges of our time.

So imagine if amid that heat and pressure a care worker realises that a fly—known as an “acid bug” because if crushed it can burn and blister skin—has got inside her protective goggles. That’s what happened to a nurse working in a high risk room …