According to the World Health Organization, herbalists outnumber bio medical workers in rural areas. Traditional healers use ritual and herbal remedies to treat people in areas where suspicion of modern medicine persists. They have been in demand in West Africa since the outbreak began. In the eastern district of Kailahun in Sierra Leone, Mamie Lebbie, a traditional herbalist, claimed special powers to cure Ebola and attracted a multitude from Guinea, according to Ebun James_Dekam, general secretary of the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone. Lebbie became the first woman to be infected in Sierra Leone and to die. At her funeral, mourners came from all corners to pay their respects, touching her body and those of their healthy colleagues, leading to a chain of infections.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 15:34:31 +0000