ANKARA
Anadolu Agency's photojournalist Mohammed Elshamy succeeded in entering the dangerous Ebola virus zone in Kenema, Sierra Leone's third largest city, where major difficulties have arisen in dealing with the contagious virus.
Elshamy arrived in Kenema City, a five hour drive from the capital, Freetown, having passed several army and police checkpoints along the way.
Despite attempts to deny him entry to the government hospital in Ebola-struck Kenama due to the risk of infection, Elshamy was able to photograph the patients.
"I feel it is my responsibility to document the suffering of people who die on a daily basis from Ebola," he said.
Elshamy described the situation in the city as "challenging" and had difficulty taking the Ebola patients' photos also.
"I felt bad that these people will probably die within a maximum of 21 days," he said.
"A Red Cross doctor told me 'If I were you I would not be in a place where infected people are,' but I then asked the patients for permission to take their photographs, and one of them replied, 'This is a way of raising awareness of our situation.'"
One of the photographs shows a group of young workers who dig graves, sterilize areas in the Kptema graveyard, and help bury the bodies.
These workers who wear special uniforms and who work under the threat of Ebola virus earn 6 dollars per day.
- What is Ebola?
The Ebola virus, a form of hemorrhagic fever, was detected in January in the hinterlands of Guinea.
Ebola, a contagious disease for which there is no known treatment or cure, has claimed more than 1,000 lives across West Africa, especially in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Ebola has infected a total of 910 people so far in Sierra Leone, of which 392 reportedly have died.
WHO describes the Ebola virus disease, which has a fatality case as up to 90 percent, as "one of the most virulent". The infection is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected animals or people.
www.aa.com.tr/en/health
