Sources on the ground in Sierra Leone confirm a new frontline in the Ebola war. UK aid charities are now running grief counselling sessions for mourners, teaching safe burial practices to stop the spread. The deadliest part of the outbreak isn't the virus itself.
It's the rituals. Families hugging corpses. Washing bodies by hand.
I've seen the documents. Internal memos from a leading NGO show that traditional burials account for nearly 70 per cent of new infections in some districts. The charity workers are training community leaders to perform burials without touching the dead.
But there's a catch. The counselling is voluntary. And sources tell me some villages are resisting.
They say the souls of the unburied will haunt them. The UK government has poured millions into this response. But until the living stop grieving with the dead, the outbreak will keep burning.
