Liberian communities refuse burials of Ebola victims

2014-08-03 108

Friends and families come to this morgue in the Liberian capital to collect their loved ones bodies.

The bodies of 21 of the latest Ebola victims are being taken to a burial site.

More than 700 people in West Africa have died from the deadly disease.

Ebola is highly contagious and kills up to 90 per cent of people infected.

It's a long, slow journey as stringent procedures must be observed to keep the bodies isolated.

Specialists say the point of death is the time when a body is most infectious.

Health workers are taking no chances and wear protective suits.

(SOUNDBITE)(English) RITA ROSE IRLAND, FAMILY MEMBER OF EBOLA VICTIM, SAYING:

"Ebola is here, we need to be very careful. We shouldn't be in a state of denial."

But suspicions, superstitions and fear are rife in the Liberian capital.

Their appearance frightens locals.

Villagers don't want the dead buried here as they're afraid they'll catch the disease, which has no