Ebola burial teams go on strike in Sierra Leone

Bodies of Ebola victims in Sierra Leone are at risk of being abandoned on the streets of Freetown, due to a strike by burial teams angry over not receiving their pay.The strike began on Wednesday after 200 new cases of the deadly infection were identified at the end of a three-day round-the-clock curfew declared by the Sierra Leone government to prevent the spread of the virus.

Mariama Bangura, a 40-year-old housewife and mother of four who obeyed the curfew, told Spanish news agency Efe that the teams' decision to go on strike was "unforgivable".

Refusing to collect bodies would cause risks to other citizens, Bangura said. She expressed hope that the government under President Ernest Bai Koroma would act quickly to put an end to the crisis.