FOX9 (USA) 11 AUGUST 2014 - MINNESOTA, BROOKLYN CENTER - EBOLA OUTBREAK: FAMILY LOSES 9 RELATIVES

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (KMSP) - The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is a crisis that can inflict pain from half a world away, and that is especially true in the Twin Cities because thousands of African immigrants who live here are losing loved ones. Brooklyn Center is home to thousands of immigrants who come from the countries most affected by the outbreak -- Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. For members of those communities, the rising death toll is more than a simple statistic. Many of the Liberian immigrants in Minnesota are losing parents, siblings and friends to the deadly virus, and their suffering is evident. Cynthia Sangbai-Kwennah told Fox 9 News she has lost 9 family members since the deadly Ebola outbreak erupted in her home country of Liberia. She explained that in June, doctors diagnosed her 61-year-old father with malaria and typhoid; however, as close family members started to spend time taking care of him, they also started to get sick. Although her loved ones were showing symptoms of fever and began vomiting, it wasn't until her father died weeks later that doctors realized he had the Ebola virus and likely infected the others. "You cannot just imagine," Sangbai-Kwennah said. "Every week, they call you and say, 'Oh, your mom died. Oh, your dad died. Oh, your niece died. Oh, your nephew died.' It's just crazy. We just cannot believe what has been happening." Nearly 1,000 people have died in the Ebola outbreak so far -- including Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian American from Coon Rapids, Minn. He was a government official with the Liberian Ministry of Finance and was the first reported case in Nigeria. He died in Lagos, Nigeria, after flying from Liberia, and the hospital where he was treated was shut down and quarantined in an attempt to isolate the spread. http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/26244335/ebola-outbreak-minn-family-loses-9-relatives There is no known vaccine or cure for Ebola, and the World Health Organization is describing the outbreak as an international health emergency that will likely continue to spread for months.