Ebola ravages health care in Sierra Leone capital

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A health worker, right, sprays a man with disinfectant chemicals as he is suspected of dying due to the Ebola virus as people, rear, look on in Monrovia, Liberia, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014. As West Africa struggles to contain the biggest ever outbreak of Ebola, some experts say an unusual but simple treatment might help: the blood of survivors. The evidence is mixed for using infection-fighting antibodies from survivors' blood for Ebola, but without any licensed drugs or vaccines for the deadly disease, some say it's worth a shot. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) Health care in Sierra Leone's capital city has "crumbled" because the deadly Ebola outbreak has made people too terrified to go to hospitals and some doctors wary of treating those who do show up, a physician said Friday.

Speaking at the launch of a public education program in Freetown, Kwame O'Neil said patients suffering from all kinds of ailments are dying for lack of treatment because of these fears. Ebola is a deadly disease for which there is no known cure and which is spread through contact with bodily fluids.

One young girl died of appendicitis when, after showing up at a hospital, a doctor there denied he was a doctor and refused to treat her, O'Neil said.

O'Neil also said his own aunt died after suffering a stroke and being left untreated at a hospital for two days.

Sierra Leone has recorded 1,107 confirmed cases and 430 confirmed deaths of Ebola, according to the World Health Organization. But the country's health ministry says most are outside the capital. The outbreak has killed about 1,900 people across five countries, according to WHO.

By contrast, the capital of neighboring Liberia has been the focal point of the outbreak there.

On Friday, Liberian officials confirmed that a police barracks in central Monrovia was shut down after the wife of one of the officers died of Ebola. Information Minister Lewis Brown said the officers decided to "self-quarantine." About 35 officers live in the barracks with their families, said Abraham Kromah, deputy director of the national police force.

Liberian Christian leaders planned to convene about 100 "prayer warriors" at a historic church in the capital to drive out Ebola, said Rev. Kortu Brown, vice president of the Liberian Council of Churches.

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Ebola ravages health care in Sierra Leone capital

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