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West Africans turn to witchcraft to fight ebola

Health & Science

Sierra, Leone: A British doctor working in Sierra Leone says the devastating outbreak of Ebola is being worsened by a belief in witchcraft among some communities.

Benjamin Black, an obstetrician from Manchester, is working in the West African country with Medecins Sans Frontieres, and says doctors there are struggling to cope with the spread of the disease which has already left nearly 700 dead in the region.

But he adds the situation is being made even worse in some areas of the country, where possible victims are not seeking or refusing medical help because they believe the virus is down to witchcraft.

He told the Telegraph: "There is a section of population here who simply don't believe Ebola is real, they think it is witchcraft so they don't come to the treatment centres."

Mr Black has been working 24-hour shifts in a clinic in the southern city of Bo, trying to save pregnant women struck with the disease.

In his blog, he has written about performing an emergency hysterectomy on one sufferer and helping a pregnant woman who had suffered severe bleeding and fever after preparing bodies of Ebola victims for a funeral, saying "Ebola is everywhere".

"I couldn't believe this was my first shift, on my first mission. As I operated, I kept thinking I was going to drown in the pressure," he said.

"The main challenge here, though, is that the health authorities just don't have the infrastructure to cope. They're overwhelmed."

He tells on his blog how he treats patients suspected of having Ebola while wearing a "full barrier uniform... gloves, mask, goggles, gown, and waterproof apron".

He writes: "The effect is strange, it's incredibly hot and uncomfortable making for very short consultations and also it creates a distance to the patient. I can't touch them, I don't speak the same language and I only approach in a fully covered waterproof suit."

This morning, Sierra Leone's president declared a public health emergency and called in security forces to quarantine epicentres of the deadly virus.

President Ernest Bai Koroma announced the measures hours after a tough anti-Ebola package was announced by neighbouring Liberia.

Koroma also announced he was cancelling a visit to Washington for a US-Africa summit next week because of the crisis.

Ebola, which kills 90% of those who contract it, has been blamed for 672 deaths in the West Africa nations of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization.

Fears that the virus could spread around the world were sparked yesterday after an American who later died of the disease was able to board two flights while infected.

UK border staff warned this morning that they do not feel adequately prepared to deal with the threat of Ebola coming to Britain.

Foreign secretary Philip Hammond said yesterday that it as that it was "most unlikely" Ebola could spread within the UK, but acknowledged it posed a "serious threat"

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