Ebola: A day with the burial team

BBC      by Tulip Mazumdar                                                                                     Jan. 7, 2015
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone --

...One factor crucial to ending the outbreak is the safe burial of Ebola victims, because their bodies are particularly toxic.

The UK is funding more than 100 burial teams in Sierra Leone. Tulip Mazumdar spent the day with one of them, the Sierra Leone Red Cross Burial Team 9 in the capital Freetown. Here she describes her day....

                 The team is called to collect a body and, before it is removed, the group takes a moment to pray

Each burial team had around 10 people, including family liaison officers, disinfectant sprayers and drivers....

These were not highly trained medics or undertakers used to seeing dead bodies. They were people from the community, for example students and other volunteers. Depending on their job they are being paid approximately $10 (£6.60) a day.This is considered a very good wage in a country where most people survive on much less.

But the jobs with the burial team can be extremely dangerous and many of those doing the work are ostracised from their communities and families for taking on the task....

Read complete story.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30712162