Ebola virus fighters named TIME Magazine’s “Person of the Year 2014”

All those involved in the fight against the Ebola virus epidemic across the world were on Wednesday named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year 2014″. The magazine said it was paying tribute to their courage and mercy.

Dr. Stella Adadevoh, died after contracting the virus while handling the index case in Nigeria

According to TIME Magazine editor, Nancy Gibbs, such persons, whether dead or alive, include the people in the field, those sent by charities such as Doctors Without Borders, as well as local doctors and nurses, ambulance drivers and burial teams.

The virus, which has so far killed over 6300 people worldwide, is currently hitting Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone hard while Nigeria, Mali, Spain, Germany and the United States had a share of it although contained it successfully.

Gibbs, while announcing the prestigious annual title, wrote:

 “The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight. 

“For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defenses, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are Time’s 2014 Person of the Year. 

“Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease. 

“And ‘us’ means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day.”