The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has taken an “unprecedented” toll on health care workers, infecting more than 240 and killing more than 120, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said. “In many cases, medical staff are at risk because no protective equipment is available – not even gloves and face masks,” the agency reported in a 26 August update on the outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

WHO said it pulled workers from one of its own posts at Kailahun in Sierra Leone after a worker became infected. It said it will reopen the post after it reassesses safety there. WHO’s Daniel Kertesz said workers “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.”

On 30 August it was reported health workers had gone on strike at the state-run Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone. “The workers decided to stop working because we have not been paid our allowances and we lack some tools,” said Ishmael Mehemoh, chief supervisor at the clinic in the city of Kenema.

Clothing to protect health workers from being infected is inadequate and there is only one broken stretcher which is used to carry both patients and corpses, Mehemoh added.

More than 20 health workers have already died from Ebola at the Kenema health clinic after catching the highly contagious virus from the patients they are fighting to save.

More information: Ebola Virus Disease: Occupational Safety and Health - joint WHO/ILO briefing note for workers and employers, 26 August 2014.