--- title: Ebola Forces the WHO to Shut Down Its Lab in Sierra Leone description: The World Health Organization announced it shut down its laboratory in Sierra Leone after a health worker contracted the Ebola virus canonical: https://time.com/3185783/who-medical-worker-ebola-sierra-leone-kailahun-public-health-agency-of-canada/ author: Stephanie Burnett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-27T09:31:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:49.046Z article:section: Health og:title: Ebola Forces Closure of WHO Lab in Sierra Leone og:description: The closure will impede efforts to contain the deadliest ever outbreak of the virus, which has killed at least 1,427 og:url: https://time.com/3185783/who-medical-worker-ebola-sierra-leone-kailahun-public-health-agency-of-canada/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf028ed7ab22c98a4/6986a111adae44e85f544b6c/sierra-leone-ebola-21.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ebola Forces Closure of WHO Lab in Sierra Leone twitter:description: The closure will impede efforts to contain the deadliest ever outbreak of the virus, which has killed at least 1,427 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf028ed7ab22c98a4/6986a111adae44e85f544b6c/sierra-leone-ebola-21.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ebola Forces the WHO to Shut Down Its Lab 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 daily 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 daily 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. ## Video: Fear and Ignorance Spread Ebola [Watch (HLS stream): Fear and Ignorance Spread Ebola](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KlA2XSgt.m3u8) (1:52)  _Published 2014-08-26. While the Ebola virus remains contained to West Africa, deadly fear and ignorance about the illness have spread worldwide._ by [Stephanie Burnett](https://time.com/author/stephanie-burnett/) ## Stephanie Burnett Aug 27, 2014 9:31 AM UTC  Relatives of an Ebola victim mourn in Lango village, Kenema, Sierra Leone on Aug. 25, 2014. Relatives of an Ebola victim mourn in Lango village, Kenema, Sierra Leone on Aug. 25, 2014. Mohammed Elshamy—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images by [Stephanie Burnett](https://time.com/author/stephanie-burnett/) ## Stephanie Burnett Aug 27, 2014 9:31 AM UTC The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Tuesday that it had shut down an Ebola-testing laboratory in Sierra Leone and pulled its staff, after a health worker contracted the lethal virus, Reuters [reports](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/27/us-health-ebola-idUSKBN0GQ17920140827). “It’s a temporary measure to take care of the welfare of our remaining workers,” WHO spokesperson Christy Feig [told](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/27/us-health-ebola-idUSKBN0GQ17920140827) the news agency. She did not specify how long the closure would last, but said staff would return “after our assessment.” The lab is located in Kailahun, an area near the Guinean border that is severely affected by the outbreak, but it is unclear precisely how the infected worker, an epidemiologist from Senegal, contracted the virus. The WHO said he would be evacuated out of the country for treatment. “The field team has been through a traumatic time through this incident,” said Dr. Daniel Kertesz, the WHO representative in Sierra Leone, in a statement. “They are exhausted from many weeks of heroic work, helping patients infected with Ebola. When you add a stressor like this, the risk of accidents increases.” The shuttered lab is one of only two in the country, Reuters says, and its closure is likely to impede efforts to contain the deadliest ever outbreak of the virus, which has infected at least 2,615 people and killed at least 1,427. Reuters also [reports](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/27/us-health-ebola-idUSKBN0GQ17920140827) that Canada has pulled its three-person mobile laboratory team from Kailahun. Sean Upton, a spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada, said on Tuesday that the workers were brought home because three people staying at their hotel had contracted Ebola. He added that the Canadian medics did not have contact with the infected individuals and did not display any symptoms of the virus. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders [told](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/world/africa/who-removes-team-from-sierra-leone-after-a-medical-worker-contracts-ebola.html) the New York _Times_ that it would continue to operate an 80-bed treatment center in Kailahun. Health workers have paid a heavy price in their efforts to contain the outbreak, which has [killed](http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/ebola/25-august-2014/en/) at least 120 medical workers and infected more than 240 as of Monday. ## Transcript Between August 19th and August 20th, WHO reported 142 new cases of Ebola and 77 new deaths. Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo claims that two people died from what is believed to be a different strain of the virus over the weekend. While Ebola may be lethal, fear and ignorance are the more silent. Killers and the kind outbreak in West Africa. [ FOREIGN ] Some airlines in shipping companies have stopped service to West Africa all together causing supply shortages and worsening conditions in all effected areas. The government of Seira Leon, Liberia, and Geanie have implemented quarantines on major cities with infected residence further isolating. Isolating the victims from help. [ INAUDIBLE ] I beg you please. You [ INAUDIBLE ] Patients can't get to the doctors and many doctors aren't going to the patients. Fear of infection by health workers who live abroad and the limited expertise of local practitioners has limited the number of doctors willing and able to treat [ MUSIC ] There's some good news however, both American patients being treated for Ebola were released on August 21st fully recovered from the disease. I'm thrilled to be alive, to be well, and to be reunited with my family. Despite scares in Germany, the U. S ., Saudi Arabia, Spain ,. France, U. K ., and Thailand. No cases have been confirmed outside of Nigeria, Sierra Leon, Guinea and Liberia. And while the rest of the world maybe thinking about closing off their borders, they are opening up their wallets. China has donated $ 4. 9 million. The U. K. $ 8 million. The E. U. and the U. S. are in for 15. 8 million each. The African Development. [ INAUDIBLE ] Bank is contributing a whopping 56 million dollars. The W. H. 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