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In Pictures: The deadly Ebola virus
Kenema, Sierra Leone – The current outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa was recently branded the worst on record, having killed over 400 in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
Ebola patient bleedingBut the effect of the disease goes far beyond the death toll. In Sierra Leone it has spread fear and division, destroyed livelihoods and left whole families ostracised.
Last Friday, Hawa Daboh lost her stepfather to the disease.
He had been a working in the laboratory of the local hospital in Kenema. The rest of the family was tested and shown to be Ebola negative.
What does ebola look like on skin
But medical staff refused to give them proof of their negative status. Without it, they have been ostracised by the community.
Life is tough for the children, who have been asked to leave school and are unable to visit their friends.
The family says anyone who tries to visit neighbouring compounds is kicked out. The women in the family used to garner some income trading at the market. But now that they carry the stigma of Ebola, nobody will buy from them.
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