Autopsy of a Virus

Intimate access to Guinea's Ebola response

Autopsy of a Virus The Ebola outbreak has killed thousands in West Africa and reached an international scale. We head back to Guinea where the deadly virus was first contracted nine months ago. Intimate access gives a doctors' eye view of the epidemic ravaging West Africa.
Inside an isolated contamination hut a small family lie huddled together, hours from death. "The child can't be with his mother here", a doctor mutters, as yet another infant becomes an orphan. This tragic footage from Dr Lomboto's head camera reveals the horrifying daily battle playing out in MSF's over-utilised, makeshift Ebola clinic. Straddled between Sierra Leone and Liberia, the town of Gueckedou is at the apex of the crisis. "It requires so many resources, and we don't have enough", says one worker, Carolina. MSF has found itself isolated - the only organisation left to fight the growing outbreak in this part of Africa. Incredibly, the NGO had almost closed its centre in June as the virus appeared under control. Now the organisation is under constant siege from new arrivals. Every time the doctors see a new patient they must don multiple layers of gloves, masks, aprons, goggles and a body suit, all done under close supervision to make sure no square inch of skin is exposed. It is a laborious task carried out several times a day, and stocks are running low. Meanwhile, outreach teams are battling for the trust of remote communities, where "rumours are rife". In one village 25 people have died, decimating its workforce and orphaning dozens of children. "They say if a patient is taken to the centre we kill them. It's very difficult."
FULL SYNOPSIS

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