The Lassa Ward

One Man's Fight Against One of the World's Deadliest Diseases

By: Ross I. Donaldson MD MPH

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

Ross Donaldson is one of just a few who have ventured into dark territory of a country ravaged by war to study one of the world's most deadly diseases. As an untried medical student studying the intersection of global health and communicable disease, Donaldson soon found himself in dangerous Sierra Leone, on the border of war-struck Liberia, where he struggled to control the spread of Lassa Fever. The words, "you know Lassa can kill you, don't you?" haunted him each day. With the country in complete upheaval and working conditions suffering, he is forced to make life-and-death decisions alone as a never-ending onslaught of contagious patients flood the hospital. Soon however, he is not only fighting for others but himself when he becomes afflicted with a life threatening disease.

The Lassa Ward is more than just an adventure story about the making of a physician; it is a portrait of the Sierra Leone people and the human struggle of those risking their daily comforts and lives to aid them.

©2009 Ross I. Donaldson (P)2020 Tantor

Thanks for sharing your experience

Dr. Donaldson, I want to thank you for your courage and vulnerability that you shared in this book. Your patients will benefit from this humbling experience!

Colonialism meets shameless self promotion

If you are looking for a story about a young medical student who gains insight into Lassa fever and medicine in general, look elsewhere. The author seems genuinely unaware that calling the native people uneducated and dirty is problematic at best. He hardly describes the actual pathology of Lassa, rambling instead about how he was so willing to put himself in danger for the good of those poor people. ALSO, HE NEVER CONTACTED LASSA FEVER. So bad it made me angry.