Salome Karwah

Salomé Karwah (c. 1988 – 21 February 2017) was a Liberian nurse who was named co-Person of the Year by Time magazine in 2014 for her efforts to combat the West African Ebola virus epidemic.

[1] Karwah survived ebola herself, before returning to work with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) to help other patients afflicted with the disease.

[1] However, two years later, Karwah died from complications of childbirth; her widower suggested that this might have been due to the widespread, mistaken belief that ebola survivors can still transmit the virus.

[3] One year after Karwah and Harris began dating, the West African Ebola virus epidemic struck Liberia, as well as neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone, in 2014.

[3] The staff at Doctors Without Borders (MSF) had noticed that Karwah and Harris had both shown an ability to care for other ebola victims, regardless of the risk to their own health, while they had been patients.

[1][3] Although she had high blood pressure, Karwah was discharged from Eternal Love Winning Africa Hospital (ELWA) on the outskirts of Monrovia several days after undergoing the caesarean.

[3] Karwah continued to feel unwell, exhibit spikes in blood pressure, and confided to family members that staff at ELWA hospital had neglected her complications.

Harris gave his account to NPR, saying ""[The doctor] was checking Facebook...I had to rush into the emergency room myself to get a wheelchair, but I was struggling to take her from the car to put her in it.

[3] Despite his efforts, Salome Karwah, who had survived ebola, died from complications of childbirth on 21 February 2017 at the age of 28, just four days after giving birth.

[4] The mistaken belief that ebola survivors can still transmit the disease remains widespread across the country, including among medical staff, which may have contributed to Karwah's death.

[1] According to the Associated Press, the country's chief medical officer, Dr. Francis Kateh, echoed this falsehood when he told reporters that "the hospital knew she had Ebola and they operated on her, which put them at more risk.

"[4] Karwah's life was remembered on BBC Radio 4's obituary programme Last Word by Time magazine's Africa correspondent, Aryn Baker.