Kenema, Sierra Leone - The Ebola outbreak, which
began in Guinea back in March, is both the largest on record and the
only one to reach major urban centres. The World Health Organisation
says more than half of identified cases have proved fatal, and it's
warning that the death toll could exceed 20,000. The United Nations has
declared Ebola a threat to international security.
In a bid to stem the epidemic in West Africa, the WHO has condoned
the use of experimental drugs, and experts in Geneva have been
discussing which treatments are in the pipeline and how quickly they
could be made available to the public.
Sierra Leone has recorded more than 490 deaths and imposed
a three-day countrywide "lockdown" starting September 18 in
an escalation of efforts to halt the spread of Ebola across the West
African nation.
Al Jazeera documented a few survivors of the disease on how they're rebuilding their lives.
The survival rate of Ebola in Sierra Leone hovers around 50 percent. Survivors from Kenema who return to their communities face fear and stigma.
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