Fear and ignorance help spread of killer Ebola virus in west Africa
As killer virus spreads to urban areas in west African nations, local traditions and suspicion of corruption are hindering health officials
When Ebola first struck Pujeh, a village deep in Sierra Leone's forested interior region, residents did what they always do when a mysterious illness brings death: they consulted the traditional healer. But the elderly herbalist soon caught one of the world's most contagious diseases, and then became a source for spreading it as visitors streamed in.
By the time officials had pinpointed Pujeh as a hot spot for the disease months later, dozens had died.
"The people living in these areas said there's no such thing as Ebola," said a district doctor. "They have their traditional beliefs and their traditional cures and they look up to their traditional leaders. Until we can bring the traditional leaders onside, it will be very difficult to convince them that Ebola even exists."
As the death toll from the latest outbreak of the world's deadliest virus climbed to 467 - far exceeding the previous most lethal outbreak which killed 254 people in Congo - officials and health workers are battling a surge of infections propelled by misinformation and doubt about the disease's existence on one side, and mistrust of scandal-hit governments on the other.
Following a World Health Organisation warning that the illness is "out of control" in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, west African health ministers on Wednesday began a two-day summit in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, to discuss ways to strengthen regional cooperation.
Some government officials have disputed the WHO's statement, saying the increasing death toll is a sign of better surveillance. "We are not saying everything is OK but there are fewer people dying in silence now, which is a good thing," health ministry official Sakouba Keita said from Guinea's capital, Conakry.
The tiny nation has been the hardest hit by the virus, which first appeared there in February before spreading through the tropical forests that sprawl into Liberia and Sierra Leone. More disturbingly, it has also jumped to all three countries' capitals.