Five Scientists Died of Ebola While Working on a Single Study on the Virus

Update 9/3/14: A spokesperson for the Broad Institute asked that we clarify that none of the researchers contracted Ebola while actually performing research, instead, they contracted it while providing clinical care after collecting the samples. Here is a full statement, from study coauthor Pardis Sabeti:

"None of these individuals contracted Ebola in performing research. Four of them contracted Ebola in the process of providing clinical care, and the other contracted it from a family member. All of the research we were able to do was performed in the US using discarded samples from diagnostics, termed 'clinical excess'. We have worked on Bio-safety level 4 viruses for a long time, and have learned to put practices in place that would not in anyway interfere with the performance of care or outbreak response. We believe research is important, but only if it can be done in a way that places no risk to our team, and no hindrance to the important work of clinical care and outbreak response."

A study published in Science yesterday is notable not just because it detailed the monumental achievement of sequencing 99 different strains of the Ebola virus, but because of the human toll it took on the team collecting the virus' samples: Five scientists died of Ebola between the time the research was completed and the time the paper was published.

At the end of the paper, the lead authors, which hail from a Harvard/MIT collaborative project called the Broad Institute, had an "in memoriam" section, something you don't often see in scientific papers.

"Tragically, five co-authors, who contributed greatly to public health and research efforts in Sierra Leone, contracted EVD in the course of their work and lost their battle with the disease before this manuscript could be published," the researchers wrote. "We wish to honor their memory."

According to a follow-up story by Science's Gretchen Vogel, the deceased researchers are Mbalu Fonnie, Alex Moigboi, Alice Kovoma, Mohamed Fullah, and Sheik Humarr Khan. A sixth researcher, Sidiki Saffa, died of a stroke before the paper was published. The researchers were nurses, doctors, lab technicians, and health clinic supervisors.

I've reached out to several of the surviving scientists to learn more about the co-authors, but no one has gotten back to me yet.

By all accounts, the results of the research are going to be useful in fighting Ebola: The researchers are hopeful that now, with not just one but 99 different full genome sequences of the virus, they'll be able to develop techniques to rapidly diagnose people who have contracted the virus.

That's been a problem in fighting the spread of the disease in West Africa. While it's extremely obvious if you've contracted Ebola once things like skin lesions start forming, the early symptoms of the illness are less obvious, which is when much of the transmission occurs.

In any case—serious science isn't always safe. The deaths of these researchers, who died trying to learn more about the virus they were trying so hard to fight, is a sobering reminder of the real danger healthcare workers, scientists, and aid relief workers continue to face as Ebola has become a bonafide terror in West Africa.