--- title: Ebola: The Psychological Toll description: Ane Bjoru Fjeldsaeter has been counselling staff, patients and their families at the Doctors Without Borders' Ebola treatment center canonical: https://time.com/3063906/the-psychological-toll-of-ebola-in-sierra-leone/ author: Mirren Gidda article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-31T18:49:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:26.570Z article:section: Health og:title: Ebola: The Psychological Toll og:description: Ane Bjoru Fjeldsaeter has been counselling staff, patients and their families at the Doctors Without Borders' Ebola treatment center og:url: https://time.com/3063906/the-psychological-toll-of-ebola-in-sierra-leone/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf0a6145b5edee46/69869dffadae4452205445f4/ebola-liberia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3096 og:image:height: 1742 og:image:alt: A nurse from Liberia sprays preventives to disinfect the waiting area for visitors at the ELWA Hospital where a US doctor Kent Bradley is being quarantined in the hospitals isolation unit having contracted the Ebola virus, Monrovia, Liberia, 28 July 2014 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ebola: The Psychological Toll twitter:description: Ane Bjoru Fjeldsaeter has been counselling staff, patients and their families at the Doctors Without Borders' Ebola treatment center twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf0a6145b5edee46/69869dffadae4452205445f4/ebola-liberia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Psychological Toll of Ebola in Sierra Leone > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=9384e029-909a-48cd-a504-c5a59015e0c7&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Ebola: The Deadly Virus Outbreak Explained [Watch (HLS stream): Ebola: The Deadly Virus Outbreak Explained](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oB7TO3G5.m3u8) (1:36)  _Published 2014-07-29. A look at the numbers behind the largest ebola outbreak on record, which has killed 670 people thus far._ by [Mirren Gidda](https://time.com/author/mirren-gidda/) ## Mirren Gidda Jul 31, 2014 6:49 PM UTC  A nurse from Liberia sprays preventives to disinfect the waiting area for visitors at the ELWA Hospital where a US doctor Kent Bradley is being quarantined in the hospitals isolation unit having contracted the Ebola virus, Monrovia, Liberia, 28 July 2014. A nurse from Liberia sprays preventives to disinfect the waiting area for visitors at the ELWA Hospital where a US doctor Kent Bradley is being quarantined in the hospitals isolation unit having contracted the Ebola virus, Monrovia, Liberia, 28 July 2014. Ahmed Jallanzo—EPA by [Mirren Gidda](https://time.com/author/mirren-gidda/) ## Mirren Gidda Jul 31, 2014 6:49 PM UTC In West Africa, the deadly Ebola outbreak is worsening daily. The U.N. [announced](http://http://www.who.int/csr/don/2014%5F07%5F31%5Febola/en/) Thursday that 1,323 people have been infected in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Of those afflicted, 729 have died. The tiny country of Sierra Leone has been hit hardest, with 533 reported cases. The President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, has [announced](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28579890) a public health emergency, some schools and banks have closed, and doctors are scrambling to treat people for a virus they can’t cure—or contain. As patients worsen, their bodies—and their minds—take a toll. Amid that chaos and fear was Ane Bjoru Fjeldsaeter, a psychologist who was working at a Doctors Without Borders’ treatment center in Kailahun until recently, when she returned home to Norway. The only mental health professional in the 64-bed center, she was tasked with providing emotional support and counseling to victims, their families and those treating them. “The fear is widespread,” she says. “When we first started working in the region there was a lot of denial. It’s a common psychological response when faced with a horrible situation.” For those inside the treatment center, the grim reality of Ebola was impossible to ignore. “They see people around them with a rapidly progressing and ugly disease,” Fjeldsaeter says. “It’s a scary situation to be in.” Doctors Without Borders has been operating in Kailahun since June 25 and the mortality rate within the center has dropped from 90% to 60%, according to Fjeldsaeter. She counseled patients at a distance of 1.5 meters, separated by two orange fences that came up to waist height. “If someone is so sick they can’t come to the fence, I’ll wear protective equipment and go to the isolation ward,” she says. “Most of the patients were more concerned about their relatives than their own lives,” she explains. For others, the isolation can be extremely trying, and as their health worsens and their own mortality looms, many turn to God. “Sometimes they asked me to pray with them or for them,” she says. In such an emotionally charged environment, staff are often affected. “It’s a workplace where it’s common at times to become overwhelmed with emotion,” Fjeldsaeter says. “Staff told me they didn’t feel professional. I had to tell them, ‘Nobody’s made of stone, we’re all affected by this. It’s a national tragedy and it’s okay to cry.'” She also offered some group counseling for staff. “They have shared concerns. There’s a fear of contamination and the feeling of helplessness because there’s no cure. They’re up against the disease and they don’t know what to do. There’s clear sadness.” Despite the horrors that she witnessed during her month in Sierra Leone, Fjeldsaeter remains stoic. She admits to being scared but adds: “If you’re not scared then you’re not careful. You have to embrace your fear a bit, but you can’t let it paralyze you.” ## Transcript The Ebola virus is highly contagious and one of the deadliest viruses in the world. A current outbreak is raging in the three West African states of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. The outbreak, which has killed over 670. People is the largest Ebola outbreak on record. It won't be considered over until no new confirmed cases appear for 42 days. There have been at least 1, 093 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of Ebola in the current outbreak. Humans contract the virus from infected animals or other humans through contact with bodily fluids. Typically, the virus kills around 90 % of those who are infected. But thanks to early treatment, the number has dropped to 60 % in the current outbreak. Because it can take between 2 and 21 days for symptoms to show, health officials suggest keeping a 21 day fever watch. In addition to fever, other symptoms are headaches, joint pain, lack of appetite, difficulty breathing, and sore throat. In later stages, Ebola causes diarrhea, vomiting, and internal bleeding. Though it's been almost 40 years since the disease was first discovered in 1976, the grim reality is that there are currently no cures or effective treatments for the virus. 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