Sierra Leone's leading doctor died of Ebola on Thursday, hours after the arrival in the country of an experimental drug that could have been used to treat him, the government's chief medical officer said. Victor Willoughby was diagnosed with Ebola last week after he treated a man with organ-related problems. The patient, a senior banker, was later diagnosed with Ebola and has since died. 
 
 The drug, ZMab, was transported in frozen form on a Brussels Airlines flight that arrived overnight. Before it could thaw, Willoughby's condition deteriorated, said chief medical officer Brima Kargbo. His death brings to 12 the number of Sierra Leone doctors to have contracted the virus. Eleven have died. 
 
 Dr. M'Baimba Baryoh, a surgeon at Connaught Hospital in Freetown who described Willoughby as a "very good friend", said Sierra Leone has a desperate need of more foreign healthcare workers as local staff are overstretched. "We've lost personal friends and colleagues we've worked with. It's extremely depressing and frustrating," he added. "You can talk to someone today and tomorrow they are Ebola-infected." 
 
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 Late Dr. Victor Willoughby will be laid to rest at 2pm today at the Kingtom cemetery. R.I.P #ebola #sierraleone pic.twitter.com/ewMZURLTB2 — Abdul Tejan-Cole (@atejancole) December 18, 2014 
 
 — Reuters ||||| Sierra Leone’s most senior doctor has died of Ebola just hours after an experimental drug to treat him arrived at Freetown’s airport. 
 
 Dr Victor Willoughby is the 11th of the country’s 120 doctors to die from the virus, during an outbreak that has killed almost 7,000 people. 
 
 
 
 The country’s chief medical officer said the death of Willoughby, who tested positive for Ebola on Saturday, was a major loss for Sierra Leone. 
 
 “Dr Victor Willoughby was a mentor to us physicians and a big loss to the medical profession,” said Brima Kargbo. “He has always been available to help junior colleagues.” 
 
 The 67-year-old died on Thursday morning, just hours after the experimental treatment arrived in the country for him. The arrival of ZMAb, developed in Canada, had raised hopes for Willoughby’s survival. But he died before a dose could be administered, said Kargbo. 
 
 ZMAb is related to ZMapp, another experimental drug that has been used to treat some Ebola patients. Their efficacy in treating Ebola has not yet been proven. 
 
 ZMapp was used to help treat Dr Kent Brantly, the American doctor infected with Ebola in Liberia a few months ago. ZMab was successfully used on Dr Felix Baez, the Cuban doctor recently evacuated out of Sierra Leone after he was infected with Ebola. 
 
 The arrival of ZMAb, developed in Canada, had raised hopes for Willoughby’s survival. But he died before a dose could be administered, said Kargbo. 
 
 The drug was sent from Canada after a request from Sierra Leone’s minister of health. 
 
 Earlier this year the country’s only virologist, Dr Shek Humar Khan, was killed by the virus.
– A physician described as Sierra Leone's leading Ebola doctor is dead after contracting the illness, reports the Guardian. If the news sounds familiar, it might be because of this depressing stat: Victor Willoughby, 67, is the 11th Sierra Leone doctor to die of the virus. His death has a particularly sad twist: An experimental drug from Canada called ZMab arrived at the airport Thursday for Willoughby, but he died before it could thaw and be administered, reports NBC News. "It's extremely depressing and frustrating," says a Freetown surgeon who knew Willoughby. "You can talk to someone today and tomorrow they are Ebola-infected."