Football is "like a second religion in Sierra Leone." That was before the Ebola outbreak put a stop to organized games, casual kick-abouts, and people gathering to watch the national sport. Here, a fan shows his colors.
'Second religion' —
Football is "like a second religion in Sierra Leone." That was before the Ebola outbreak put a stop to organized games, casual kick-abouts, and people gathering to watch the national sport. Here, a fan shows his colors.
Issouf Sanogo/Getty Images/File
"This virus is about sweat, blood, and interaction," said the country's Football Association president Isha Johansen (pictured). "And that's football. There's a lot of interaction, there's a lot of sweat and blood."
Isha Johansen —
"This virus is about sweat, blood, and interaction," said the country's Football Association president Isha Johansen (pictured). "And that's football. There's a lot of interaction, there's a lot of sweat and blood."
Courtesy Isha Johansen
Sierra Leone's players have reportedly<a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fsport%2F0%2Ffootball%2F29621447" target="_blank" target="_blank"> suffered "humiliating" prejudice,</a> with overseas opponents refusing to their shake hands and crowds chanting "Ebola" at matches.
Sierra Leone stigma —
Sierra Leone's players have reportedly suffered "humiliating" prejudice, with overseas opponents refusing to their shake hands and crowds chanting "Ebola" at matches.
Issouf Sanogo/Getty Images/File
The Ebola outbreak has seen over 1,400 new cases in Sierra Leone in the last three weeks alone, making the country set to eclipse Liberia as the worst-effected country on the globe, according to the <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fapps.who.int%2Fgho%2Fdata%2Fview.ebola-sitrep.ebola-summary-latest%3Flang%3Den" target="_blank" target="_blank">World Health Organisation. </a>Here, a health worker in protective gear gives a drink to a tiny patient at the Kenama Treatment Center.
Surge in cases —
The Ebola outbreak has seen over 1,400 new cases in Sierra Leone in the last three weeks alone, making the country set to eclipse Liberia as the worst-effected country on the globe, according to the World Health Organisation. Here, a health worker in protective gear gives a drink to a tiny patient at the Kenama Treatment Center.
Francisco Leong/Getty Images/File
"It's a very strained and difficult place to be in mentally. You have to reprogram yourself. So you find that when people reach out to you, it's kind of like 'argh,' says Johansen, holding up her hands.
'Reprograming' a nation —
"It's a very strained and difficult place to be in mentally. You have to reprogram yourself. So you find that when people reach out to you, it's kind of like 'argh,' says Johansen, holding up her hands.
Carl de Souza/Getty Images/File
Volunteers arrive to pick up bodies of people who have died of the Ebola virus in Freetown, against a $100 weekly risk-taking compensation. The virus which has so far claimed over 1,400 lives across the country.
Death toll —
Volunteers arrive to pick up bodies of people who have died of the Ebola virus in Freetown, against a $100 weekly risk-taking compensation. The virus which has so far claimed over 1,400 lives across the country.
Florian Plaucheur/Getty Images/File
Health workers from Sierra Leone's Red Cross Society Burial Team carry a corpse out of a house in Freetown.
Grim task —
Health workers from Sierra Leone's Red Cross Society Burial Team carry a corpse out of a house in Freetown.
Francisco Leong/Getty Images/File
What initially appears to be a common cold, can quickly escalate into vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding -- both internally and externally. Transmission through bodily fluids makes football a ripe setting for infection.
Symptoms of Ebola —
What initially appears to be a common cold, can quickly escalate into vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding -- both internally and externally. Transmission through bodily fluids makes football a ripe setting for infection.
Pascal Guyoti/Getty Images/File
"When someone you love is sick, you want to hold that person, you want to carry them," said Johansen. "But you can't." In Freetown, a sign warning of the dangers of Ebola hangs outside a government hospital.
Mental toll —
"When someone you love is sick, you want to hold that person, you want to carry them," said Johansen. "But you can't." In Freetown, a sign warning of the dangers of Ebola hangs outside a government hospital.
Carl de Souza/Getty Images/File
"I think one of the vital things we've failed to adhere to as a people, is not to touch a sick person," said Johansen of a disease in which <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.who.int%2Fmediacentre%2Fnews%2Fnotes%2F2014%2Febola-burial-protocol%2Fen%2F" target="_blank" target="_blank">20% of transmissions happen during burials.</a> Here, government burial team members wearing protective clothing stand next to the coffin of Dr Modupeh Cole -- Sierra Leone's second senior physician to die of Ebola.
Heart breaking —
"I think one of the vital things we've failed to adhere to as a people, is not to touch a sick person," said Johansen of a disease in which 20% of transmissions happen during burials. Here, government burial team members wearing protective clothing stand next to the coffin of Dr Modupeh Cole -- Sierra Leone's second senior physician to die of Ebola.
Carl de Souza/Getty Images/File