AN IRISH charity fundraiser has spoken of losing his long-time friend and colleague to the lethal Ebola virus while caring for stricken patients in Liberia.
John Mitchell, chief executive of fundraising in Ireland for the St John of God Development Company, said medical workers had been left shocked by the death last weekend of Catholic Brother Patrick Nshamdze.
"It was very sudden," Mr Mitchell said, revealing that he had learned of the death of the 52-year-old hospital director while holidaying in the United States.
"He seemed to have died quite quickly. He was initially diagnosed as being negative. Apparently the testing is pretty erratic," he said, revealing that the pair had last been in touch via email on July 16.
Brother Nshamdze, who was born in Cameroon and had been a member of the Hospitaller Order of St John of God for the past 23 years, had been treating Ebola patients at St Joseph's Catholic Hospital in the city of Monrovia when he fell ill.
The facility has now been shut after five other religious brothers and three Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception were placed in quarantine after contracting the disease.
Mr Mitchell, who has worked as a fundraiser since 1998, said that he had worked with Br Nshamdze on many occasions, including in Ireland, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
"We were very close. We used to describe each other as twin brothers," he said.
Mr Mitchell said his organisation would have sent around n 55,000 by the end of this week to help efforts to fight Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia, describing it as "a scary disease with no treatment and no cure".
Donations can be made to St John of God Development Company, Flavian House, PO Box 4, Blackrock, Co Dublin, or by visiting www.sjogdonations.ie.