The leading doctor in trying to cure the dreaded Ebola disease died of the said virus on Thursday just hours after the doctor arrived in the U.S. to undergo treatment using an experimental drug.

Dr. Victor Willoughby was diagnosed with the deadly disease last week after he treated a man who had organ-related problems, the U.S. government chief medical officer confirmed. That patient was said to be a senior banker and was only diagnosed with Ebola days after Willoughby assessed him. The banker also died after a few days.

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ZMab, the drug that was supposed to be used on Willoughby, was transported in frozen form via a Brussels Airlines that arrived before he was brought to the hospital. However, before it could melt, the condition of the doctor has already deteriorated, according to chief medical officer Brima Kargbo.

Willoughby was someone they all looked up to and his death is another tragic loss as they consult him on issues related to their medical profession, Kargbo said. Also, Dr. M'Baimba Baryoh, a surgeon from Connaught hospital Freetown, said Willoughby was a very good friend and that Sierra Leone is really in desperate need of foreign health workers.

"We've lost personal friends and colleagues we've worked with. It's extremely depressing and frustrating..." Baryoh said. "The tension, the depression, it's a lot of pressure. You start having nightmares because of Ebola."

Willoughby's death raised the number of doctors who have died of Ebola to 12. All those doctors  contracted the deadly virus while working in Sierra Leone. The World Health Organization (WHO) said have been 142 recorded health workers who have been infected with the disease from West African countries and 109 of them have already died.

Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia have had the most number of confirmed Ebola cases, which has already reached 18,603. As of December 14, WHO has recorded an overall death toll of 6,915. On the bright side, the spread of the disease in Sierra Leone has already slowed down.

Tagstop doctor, Sierra Leone, Victor Willoughby