Ebola: A Crisis of Communications Over and over again, aid workers report that people do not have the knowledge they need to contain this deadly disease. In a major survey in Sierra Leone (late September) UNICEF found:
- 30% believed Ebola was transmitted via mosquitos; 30% believed it was an airborne disease
- 20% believed treatment by spiritual healers is effective
- 42% believed hot salt water baths are an effective cure
Aid workers know kissing deceased loved ones is a major cause of the epidemic (the virus is most potent right before and right after death). And yet the ritual continues. They also know epidemics can be reduced if the practice of eating bats (a delicacy in West Africa) is reduced or eliminated. Yet this knowledge is not effectively passed on to those who need it.
Why?
