The world is indeed working hard to fight the recent Ebola outbreak. From vaccines to financial aid, many countries are now extending their support especially to the hardest-hit nations of West Africa.
However, the efforts are still not enough. One of the biggest concerns is manpower as Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia already suffer from weak and poor health care even before the deadly infection came about.
Fortunately, many of its locals, who are now deemed as warriors, are standing up to the challenge despite the high risks of being infected and dying from the disease.
In a report published by Reuters on Tuesday, October 28, some residents are now training themselves to be hygienists with the help of British soldiers. Once they are given the go signal, these warriors will be helping in taking care of Ebola patients, both the new and the dying.
They are currently being trained on how to wear the protective gear correctly as a small gap between the skin and the bodily fluid of the infected patient can already make them susceptible to the virus. Aside from that, they are made to be acclimated with wearing the suit for several minutes by letting them run around the stadium. These suits are more for protection than comfort.
Inside, a person can feel very hot and perspire a lot. Adding the natural African heat, anyone cannot last for an hour wearing it, and thus, he or she has to take the suit out the proper way, a tedious but necessary process to avoid potentially touching fluid that may already contain the virus.
The Ebola outbreak continues to kill many people in these three West African nations, including health workers. According to World Health Organization, these places require around 20,000 locals and 1,000 foreign workers to supervise, help, and take care of patients spread across over 45 treatment facilities put up for the outbreak.