The burial of the victims of Ebola saved the world and thousands of lives from the deadly virus
In times of serious crisis there are always extraordinary tasks and exceptional roles to save lives and mitigate the disaster. This concept is embodied in the burial teams that took the bodies of victims of the deadly Ebola virus in West African countries.
According to a new study, Red Cross volunteers who helped bury most of the victims of Ebola in West Africa have saved more than 10,000 cases of the deadly disease.
More than 28,000 people have already been infected with the Ebola virus from 2014 to 2015. Of these, 11,310 have died.
The most affected countries were Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The safe burial of victims' bodies was an important part of the rapid and correct handling of the virus, as those bodies were very toxic.
Mass funerals and family participation in washing and preparing their dead for burial contributed to the spread of infection and many people contracted the virus in its early stages of transmission.
In a few months, the epidemic has become the worst threat to public health in modern times.
The study, published in the Journal of Neglected Tropical Studies, adopted statistical models to measure the impact of the safe and dignified burial program implemented by the Red Cross.
The researchers focused on 45 unsafe mass graves, as well as 310 people who were confirmed to have been in contact with infected bodies.
Researchers were assured that at least two people on average were infected with the Ebola virus after each unsafe mass burial.
The greatest threat was to those caring for a family member infected with the virus.
The researchers found that infections could have been reduced if patients had been treated in hospitals rather than treated within their families and communities.
However, statistics indicate that safe and dignified burial by Red Cross personnel prevented between 1411 and 10 thousand and 452 cases.
The end of the war
Hundreds of volunteers, who have been paid, have taken the task of collecting bodies from homes wearing protective vests and having difficulty dealing with bereaved families.
Volunteers were ordinary citizens from West African States, including teachers and university students. Many of them have done a lot of dangerous work over the course of months.
They face problems in dealing with their communities because people are afraid of being infected.
But in fact they were helping to stop the worst outbreak of the Ebola virus in the world.
"It was very difficult work," said Mohamed Kamara, a Red Cross volunteer.
"It is good that people recognize the impact of what we have done to help end the transmission of the Ebola virus," he said in response to the study's findings from the capital, Freetown.
"Some people did not even want to approach us at the time," he said.
"But the team we worked with helped us show the courage to do this important job, and we ended this war."