The Ebola virus has struck a 33-year-old physician by the name of Dr. Kent Brantly during his work with the Samaritan’s Purse organization, in a high-risk position treating individuals with the disease. The North Carolina based, not-for-profit Christian aid organization released a statement asking for prayers as Dr. Brantly fights the deadly disease.

The Samaritan’s Purse statement noted that Dr. Brantly identified his symptoms and sought treatment on his own. He is being treated in Monrovia, Liberia, where he maintained an isolation ward for patients. As healthcare workers take great precautions to prevent contraction of illnesses, it is still unsure as to how Dr. Brantly contracted the virus.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with secretions from infected individuals.  There is a 90 percent fatality rate associated with the virus, with symptoms including diarrhoea, vomiting, internal and external bleeding.

Dr. Brantly acknowledged the high-risk nature of his work. “The hospital is taking great effort to be prepared,” Brantly said. “In past Ebola outbreaks, many of the casualties have been healthcare workers who contracted the disease through their work caring for infected individuals,” said Brantly.

Before being stationed in Liberia in October 2013, Dr. Brantly worked as a family physician in Fort Worth, Texas with the JPS Health Network. His wife and children who were previously stationed with him in Liberia are currently in the U.S.

Dr. Brantly is the second doctor to be infected with the virus, following Sierra Leone’s top Ebola doctor, 39-year-old Sheikh Umer Khan. Dr. Khan was transferred to the Doctors Without Borders medical camp for treatment.

Treatment is most effective if the virus is identified early on, which it was in the case of both doctors. With no vaccine or cure for the virus, treatments include oral or intravenous rehydration with electrolytic solutions. New drug therapies are currently under evaluation.