West African villagers infected with the Ebola virus are refusing treatment for the disease.
Locals blame witchcraft for the deadly outbreak.
Some locals believe the recent Ebola deaths were caused by witchcraft. (IFRC)
Kenyans are fleeing the border with Uganda over fears of contracting the disease.
The News AU reported:
Doctor Benjamin Black, 32, a volunteer with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Sierra Leone, told the UK Telegraph that some of those in infected areas were not seeking medical treatment as they thought the disease was the work of sorcerers.
“There is a section of population here who simply don’t believe Ebola is real, they think it is witchcraft and so they don’t come to the treatment centres,” he told the UK Telegraph.
“Sometimes, even those who turn up at clinics with symptoms of the disease will be resistant to the idea that they have it. They will say ‘yes, people in my family have died already, but this is witchcraft rather than Ebola’.”
His alarming comments come after Doctors Without Borders warned that the outbreak is out of control and there are fears it “can only get worse”.