Fear and isolation as doctors battle Ebola

(Vatican Radio) Doctors and nurses are continuing to work tirelessly in a bid to fight the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. The outbreak has hit three of the world's poorest countries, where health systems there were already understaffed and ill-equipped.

In Liberia, there is only one doctor for every 100,000 people.

Listen to Lydia O'Kane's interview with the Apostolic Nuncio to Liberia Archbishop Miroslaw Adamczyk 

At the weekend residents raided a quarantine center for suspected patients in a slum in Liberia’s capital Monrovia and reportedly took items including bloodied sheets and mattresses.

Health workers are trying to build a sense of trust with the patients but due to the nature of the virus many of  those who are ill are kept in isolation away from loved ones with no contact whatsoever. The Apostolic Nuncio to Liberia Archbishop Miroslaw Adamczyk spoke of the compassion he feels for the patients and their families saying the situation is very hard for all concerned.

He also spoke about the lack of medical infrastructure in Liberia to deal with the scale of the outbreak. “To prevent Ebola there were not enough protection supplies and now to stop it we need professional and prepared personnel”, he said.

Ebola has killed 1,145 people in West Africa, including over 400 in Liberia, according to the World Health Organization.

Other countries across Africa are grappling to prevent Ebola's spread with travel restrictions, suspensions of airline flights, public health messages and quarantines.