NPR's Jason Beaubien is in Sierra Leone, covering the Ebola outbreak that began in March in Guinea and has spread to neighboring countries. We'll be speaking with him throughout the week about what he's seeing on the ground. Today he's in Kailahun, the largest town in the country's Eastern Province, with a population of about 18,000, and the epicenter of Sierra Leone's outbreak; in the past week, Doctors without Borders staff in Kailahun have treated more than 70 patients with Ebola-like symptoms. When we called, Beaubien was with a team driving to the treatment center to pick up the body of a 70-year-old woman who died of Ebola. Burial was scheduled for this afternoon.
What will happen at the burial?
The ministry of health is handing over body management to the Red Cross. This is one of the first bodies they're going out to do, so there's a whole bunch of people [who will be at the burial], it may turn into a bit of a mob scene. And there's a lot of anger in the community, there's a potential that family members might not be happy that such a large group of people are showing up at the burial.
What's fueling that anger?
There's been a lot of frustration and lack of understanding among the community about the need to not touch the body. Traditional burial would include washing the body by hand. So there's been some tension when the health teams come in telling people they're not allowed to touch the body, and that the body has to be zipped up in a body bag and disposed of by people in Hazmat suits.
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