Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Ebola in Sierra Leone: battling sadness, fear and disgust on the frontline
An MSF psychologist reveals the trauma of dealing with the Ebola outbreak for medics, cleaners and the families of the dead
Ane Bjøru Fjeldsæter
Thursday 17 July 2014 06.00 EDT
...
I was expecting the Ebola epidemic to be quite gruesome and unlike anything I had seen before. But I really didn't expect its magnitude – this outbreak is enormous. In Sierra Leone, it killed off a lot of health workers before MSF even arrived. Not surprisingly, medical staff were reluctant to work with us at first. They'd never come across Ebola before – but at least they had previous experience of people suffering and people dying. But for the non-medical staff, like the hygienists – our hospital cleaners – it's been a new and disturbing experience, and a large part of my work involves helping them with counselling and support.
The hygienists have the hardest job of all because they are the ones dealing with the dead bodies. Since our Ebola centre opened two weeks ago, we've had 37 deaths: an average of two or three a day. A lot of the cleaners are young, unskilled workers. In an area with an unemployment rate of 95%, they jumped at this opportunity to get a job.
They are the ones who mop up the vomit, the stools and the blood. And when there's a death, they are the ones who retrieve the body from the isolation ward, put it in the morgue and disinfect it. In the final stages of the disease, the viral load increases massively, which means the dead bodies are extremely contagious and very dangerous to deal with.
...
The stigma makes it hard for the hygienists. We tell them: "You are heroes, you're doing a very important service for your community – it's absolutely vital that someone is doing this job." But although we see them as heroes, that isn't always how they are perceived by their families, their friends or their villages.
...
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2014/jul/17/ebola-sierra-leone-epidemic
Ane Bjøru Fjeldsæter
Thursday 17 July 2014 06.00 EDT
...
I was expecting the Ebola epidemic to be quite gruesome and unlike anything I had seen before. But I really didn't expect its magnitude – this outbreak is enormous. In Sierra Leone, it killed off a lot of health workers before MSF even arrived. Not surprisingly, medical staff were reluctant to work with us at first. They'd never come across Ebola before – but at least they had previous experience of people suffering and people dying. But for the non-medical staff, like the hygienists – our hospital cleaners – it's been a new and disturbing experience, and a large part of my work involves helping them with counselling and support.
The hygienists have the hardest job of all because they are the ones dealing with the dead bodies. Since our Ebola centre opened two weeks ago, we've had 37 deaths: an average of two or three a day. A lot of the cleaners are young, unskilled workers. In an area with an unemployment rate of 95%, they jumped at this opportunity to get a job.
They are the ones who mop up the vomit, the stools and the blood. And when there's a death, they are the ones who retrieve the body from the isolation ward, put it in the morgue and disinfect it. In the final stages of the disease, the viral load increases massively, which means the dead bodies are extremely contagious and very dangerous to deal with.
...
The stigma makes it hard for the hygienists. We tell them: "You are heroes, you're doing a very important service for your community – it's absolutely vital that someone is doing this job." But although we see them as heroes, that isn't always how they are perceived by their families, their friends or their villages.
...
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2014/jul/17/ebola-sierra-leone-epidemic