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'He Wanted to Help In Any Way He Could': US Journalist Ashoka Mukpo Diagnosed With Ebola

Ashoka Mukpo, who has been based in Liberia since 2011 and worked with VICE News, is seeking care at a treatment center in Liberia.
Photo by Jake Burghart

American freelance journalist Ashoka Mukpo, who was first based in Liberia in 2011, has tested positive for the Ebola virus. Mukpo, 33, reportedly sought medical care at a treatment center run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Monrovia, where he will continue to receive treatment until he is airlifted back to the US on Sunday.

"Obviously he is scared and worried," Mukpo's father Dr. Mitchell Levy told NBC News today. Levy said his son had been "seeing the death and tragedy, and now it's really hit home for him. But his spirits are better today." Mukpo left Liberia briefly this summer, before returning recently as the Ebola outbreak in the country worsened.

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Levy added that his son had worked with an NGO in Monrovia for two years, and had "really made a strong connection to the Liberian people, and … wanted to go back and see if he could make a difference."

Mukpo, who had tirelessly covered the Ebola outbreak from the heart of the epidemic for Al Jazeera, the Washington Post, and NBC News, was working with NBC News Medical Correspondent Nancy Snyderman's team for approximately 72 hours before he realized he felt sick, according to NBC News.

Prior to working with NBC News, the 33-year-old had also worked with VICE News producer Danny Gold and cameraman Tim Freccia on our most recent documentary about Liberia,The Fight Against Ebola. Gold and Freccia have shown no symptoms of the virus, and continue to follow all precautionary measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

"Ashoka came back to Liberia to work during the Ebola outbreak because he deeply cared about the country and the people, and he wanted to help in any way he could," Gold said. "It wasn't abnormal to drive down the street with him and have numerous people call out his name and wave."

Photo by VICE News

Photo by Tim Freccia

VICE News first worked with Mukpo in Liberia this past April alongside producer Kaj Larsen on our documentary about the initial spread of Ebola in west Africa.

"Ashoka's work over the last two years has been an incredible devotion to the people of Liberia," Larsen said today. "It was no surprise when several months ago he decided to return to the country to help Liberians in their latest crisis. Despite the concern of his family and friends he felt compelled to go back and help."

Larsen highlighted Mukpo's work as an advocate for fair labor practices and environmental consciousness in Liberian mining industries. He described Mukpo as both courageous and tough.

VICE News featured some of Mukpo's harrowing work from the ground in Liberia, with a recent report describing the scenes at treatment centers in Monrovia where sick individuals were being turned away from receiving care. In an earlier piece , he delved into the confusion and anxiety gripping the small coastal nation as Ebola arrived in the country.

Photo by Tim Freccia