Ebola deaths in Liberia -- no mourners, funerals or last good-byes

Zango Town, Liberia (CNN) -- At the gravesite in a northern Liberia village, there are no religious or traditional burial rites. No ceremony, no mourning, no family members, and no final goodbyes.

Nothing but a group of men dressed in space-suit-like outfits, cautiously throwing the dead body into the grave, they pause only to toss in anything else they are wearing that came into contact with the deceased.

These men are part of the country's Ebola response team, specifically tasked with burying anyone suspected to have died of the Ebola virus.

The virus is spread through contact with the blood and body fluids of people infected with Ebola, and it is still transferable even from a dead body.

To help combat the spread of the disease, the Liberian government has directed that its citizens should not bury anyone who dies of, or is suspected of having been infected with, Ebola.

For months Liberians ignored the directive, fearing that they would be ostracized by their communities if they admitted that their relatives had died of Ebola, but here in Lofa County -- ground zero of the country's outbreak -- almost everyone has witnessed the devastating suffering and numerous deaths caused by the virus.

Now almost anytime there is a suspected Ebola death in the community, they call in the Ebola response team to come and bury the body safely.

"When it started, it wasn't that easy," says Alpha Tamba, an Ebola response coordinator in Lofa County. "It was kind of difficult for communities to disclose death. People preferred driving us away."

feelthelove wrote:How awful for the families left behind.  The video at the link is heartbreaking

Ben_Reilly wrote:Kind of brings home the extent of the tragedy to learn this, huh?

jaded fox wrote:I am wondering why they don't burn the bodies though. I would think incineration would be safer than burying.

feelthelove wrote:

jaded fox wrote:I am wondering why they don't burn the bodies though. I would think incineration would be safer than burying.

Good point Jaded Fox, I wonder if there are religious reasons?

If those infected remain a risk after death it would make sense to cremate the bodies

Ben_Reilly wrote:

feelthelove wrote:

Good point Jaded Fox, I wonder if there are religious reasons?

If those infected remain a risk after death it would make sense to cremate the bodies

Might just be a step too far for the public to accept, I think. I don't know how people feel over there -- to me, it would make sense to burn the bodies, but maybe that's just a little too much for them to take?

feelthelove wrote:

jaded fox wrote:
I am wondering why they don't burn the bodies though. I would think incineration would be safer than burying.

Good point Jaded Fox, I wonder if there are religious reasons?

If those infected remain a risk after death it would make sense to cremate the bodies

Lone Wolf wrote:

feelthelove wrote:

Good point Jaded Fox, I wonder if there are religious reasons?

If those infected remain a risk after death it would make sense to cremate the bodies

COULD also be a matter of economics...

MUST remember how poor a lot of those countries are ~ if they were to aim for cremation for health reasons, then an outside body, such as the WHO, or maybe the African Congress, or a conglomerate of charities and rich countries will probably have to supply those crematoriums ?  

jaded fox wrote:

Lone Wolf wrote:


COULD also be a matter of economics...

MUST remember how poor a lot of those countries are ~ if they were to aim for cremation for health reasons, then an outside body, such as the WHO, or maybe the African Congress, or a conglomerate of charities and rich countries will probably have to supply those crematoriums ?  

I was thinking more of big bonfires.

Lone Wolf wrote:

jaded fox wrote:

I was thinking more of big bonfires.

MAYBE the authorities considered that to be too confronting for the families and local communities ???

jaded fox wrote:

Lone Wolf wrote:


COULD also be a matter of economics...

MUST remember how poor a lot of those countries are ~ if they were to aim for cremation for health reasons, then an outside body, such as the WHO, or maybe the African Congress, or a conglomerate of charities and rich countries will probably have to supply those crematoriums ?  

I was thinking more of big bonfires.