Infection control in Sierra Leone: Deploying to an Ebola hot zone

To say that Nikola Latinovic has been busy lately would be a gross understatement. In the last three years, he has immigrated to Windsor, Ontario, welcomed a daughter into the world, and started a new career. To top it all off, Nikola applied to be an aid worker with the Canadian Red Cross in Sierra Leone. He is deploying this week.

Nikola Latinovic prior to deploying to Sierra Leone

Nikola Latinovic at Canadian Red Cross head office in Ottawa, Ontario

Nikola was one of hundreds who answered the call of the Canadian Red Cross to help combat the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. His qualifications – 12 years of experience working for the International Committee of the Red Cross in the former Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia as a medical officer and overseeing water safety programs – made him the perfect candidate for the infection protection and control position with the Canadian Red Cross.

While in Sierra Leone, Nikola will be working to ensure the procedures relating to infection control are followed properly. Some of his work will involve ensuring that quarantine areas are secure and that personal protective equipment is worn, removed, washed and or disposed of properly. Outside of his duties at the Red Cross Ebola treatment centre, Nikola will be engaging with members of the community and educating them on how to protect themselves from the virus.

His motivation behind applying for this critical mission is simple, “I’m excited to have the opportunity to apply my experience and skill set to such an important mission.”

Learn more about what Canadian Red Cross aid workers like Nikola are doing in West Africa to combat Ebola

See your impact in action.

Sign up to receive impact updates from the Canadian Red Cross, inspirational stories from the field and be the first to hear about emergency relief efforts.

The Canadian Red Cross takes your privacy seriously. We do not distribute or sell your email address to anyone. View our privacy policy.

Blog Archives