Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


           Traditional Burial Practices Hamper Efforts to Fight Ebola

   by Pamela Dockins

   World health officials say traditional burial practices are among the
   obstacles that are making it difficult to control the worst Ebola
   outbreak in West Africa's history.

   World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said health
   and relief workers have been trying to educate families in the affected
   region about how to bury their loved ones without exposing themselves
   to the virus.

   He said people who touch the dead could be putting themselves at risk.

   "At the moment when a person died from Ebola, this is the moment when
   the person is the most infectious and when the viral load is the
   highest," he said.

   Dangerous practice

   Jasarevic has been working with local officials in Guinea and Sierra
   Leone. He said in many cultures, families wash the bodies of their
   loved ones before burial, but this practice is dangerous for Ebola
   victims because of the presence of bodily fluids.

   "Usually there is the point just before the death, there is bleeding,"
   he said.

   Jasarevic also said their could be vomit or diarrhea.

   ''Peter Schleicher, a Red Cross operations manager in Liberia, said
   another obstacle for relief workers in affected communities is fear.

   He said people in some communities have prevented trained health
   professionals from safely burying Ebola victims.

   "We got a report back from one of our teams in the field that they have
   now been blocked by the angry community and they have been denied
   access," he said.

   Schleicher said the team members were told to turn back to keep from
   putting themselves at risk.

   He said relief workers have been trying to alleviate fears and inform
   communities that Ebola victims can be safely buried by trained
   specialists, who take extra precautions.

   "The body will be disinfected and then be put into one body bag and
   disinfected again," he said.

   "And this body bag will be put into the outer body bag. So actually,
   one body will be using two body bags," said Schleicher.

   He said relief workers are sensitive to fears and burial traditions.
   But they have been trying to persuade communities to heed their advice,
   and allow trained specialists to handle the bodies of Ebola victims.

     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/traditional-burial-practices-hamper-e
   fforts-to-fight-ebola/1970353.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/traditional-burial-practices-hamper-efforts-to-fight-ebola/1970353.html