Sierra Leone midwives return to work in Ebola hotspot

2014-12-21 1

Just 10 days ago, this hospital in the Kono District of Sierra Leone overflowed with Ebola cases.

The smell of death filled the air. Many nurses and patients fled for their lives.

But after a week of intensive training on using protective equipment with the Red Cross, the hospital's midwives are back.

Victoria Koroma was one of those to return to work.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) MATERNITY NURSE AT KOIDU GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL, VICTORIA KOROMA, SAYING:

"We are worried because when you get infected you are going to die. You die. We've lost five of our colleagues here."

Aid agencies fear that Ebola is spreading fast in the Kono District, which sits on the country's eastern border with Ebola-stricken Guinea.

A Red Cross official says the aid effort there is severely under-resourced.

The virus has killed more than 7,000 people across West Africa.

Yet Koroma remains determined in the fight.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) MATERNITY NURSE AT KOIDU GOV

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