In the eye of the outbreak

Despite her daughter's concerns, Beijing doctor Yao Gaiqi traveled to West Africa to help local health workers contain the spread of Ebola.

On the afternoon of Aug 11, Yao Gaiqi received a phone call from her bosses at Peking University Third Hospital, asking her to prepare to go to West Africa. Her mission? To help fight the Ebola outbreak.

"I'm not a passionate traveler, and West Africa had seemed very far away from my life," says Yao, 50, director of the hospital's intensive care unit. "I would be lying if I said I was not afraid. But it is my job to treat patients, and I must go if I'm selected."