Two ESU Grads Help Fight Ebola Epidemic in Liberia, West Africa

It’s hot and humid. It’s the kind of day when you sweat through your socks before lunch. The days are long and exhausting for ESU grads Lieutenant John Pesce ’98 and Commander Robert Windom M’98 as they fight the Ebola epidemic in Monrovia, Liberia, in West Africa .They are honored to be part of a specialized, hand-selected unit of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps, the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) Team-1.

The Ebola virus causes an acute, serious illness which is often fatal if untreated. According to the World Health Organization, the current outbreak in West Africa is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the virus was first discovered in 1976. There have been more cases and deaths in this outbreak than all others combined.

Doctors and nurses from across the globe who are responding to the urgent need to treat Ebola patients are also among those most at risk to become infected. Pesce and Windom help run a 25-bed Ebola treatment unit designed for healthcare workers who have contracted or been exposed to the disease. Their mission: to provide hope through both care and working with the Liberian government to build capacity for additional care.

The USPHS Commissioned Corps, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a uniformed service with more than 6,800 full-time, highly qualified public health professionals, serving the most underserved and vulnerable populations both domestically and abroad.

Windom and Pesce have served together on several missions, including response to Hurricane Sandy, but it wasn’t until Liberia that they discovered they studied at ESU at the same time.

Pesce, 39, whose ESU degree is in biology, went on to earn a Ph.D. in molecular and cell biology and joined the Corps in 2012. He is employed at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) with the National Institutes of Health as a product development project manager for the Parasitology and International Programs Branch, where he is responsible for early clinical development of vaccines, particularly malaria.

Windom, 44, earned his Master of Public Health from ESU in 1998. He served in the Navy for nine years until joining USPHS six years ago as a senior public health analyst, overseeing federally-funded community health center programs in California, Hawaii and the island of Micronesia. Windom credits his graduate assistantship at ESU, along with his internship and graduate research, with helping prepare him for the realities of public health.

At MMU, Pesce’s role is largely logistical, using his skills as a project manager to coordinate supplies and services with multiple partners. Windom handles electronic medical records and data and supports the clinical team. While neither man has significant interaction with Ebola patients, their work is critical to the operation.

“The Liberia mission is made up of the best of the best from all the USPHS officers” says Pesce. “There has never been a mission like this in the history of the USPHS, who knows if there will be one like this again?” Pesce is honored to have been selected for this team.

USPHS public information officer LT Mike Muni says that while other officers were qualified for the assignment, it was “through their calm yet confident demeanor and professionalism that the USPHS Commissioned Corps knew these two officers were the right officers to handle this mission.”

Pesce and Windom completed an intensive training conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama, before flying to Monrovia.

Although their families are concerned for their safety, Windom says he understands “the magnitude of this crisis,” both from the perspective of his personal safety but more importantly, he realizes “the positive impact that the USPHS team is making in the fight against Ebola.” He laughs that his 7-year-old son Caiel’s biggest worry is “making sure Daddy doesn’t get eaten by a lion while in Africa.”

“The biggest challenge I face is in supporting team members and trying to help with maintaining team morale and an overall positive attitude and energy to continue meeting our mission,” Windom says.

“Our team strongly believes that our presence here is having a strong impact on building capacity to address the spread of Ebola,” Windom adds, noting that their efforts are helping healthcare workers feel more confident about their own care should they contract the disease.

Pesce simply says he is grateful to be in Liberia representing the U.S. and taking part in a mission so much bigger than himself.

Both men are hopeful the Ebola epidemic can be contained. Since the completion of the MMU in the beginning of November, several patients have already been released after recovering from Ebola and are now Ebola virus free.

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