Sierra Leone’s chief Ebola doctor contracts the virus

The head doctor fighting the deadly tropical virus Ebola in Sierra Leone has himself caught the disease, the government said. The 39-year-old Sheik Umar Khan, hailed as a "national hero" by the health ministry, was leading the fight to control an outbreak that has killed 206 people in the West African country. Ebola kills up to 90 percent of those infected and there is no cure or vaccine. Across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, more than 600 people have died from the illness, according to the World Health Organisation, placing great strain on the health systems of some of Africa's poorest countries.