Recruiting heathcare workers to fight Ebola a struggle

LONDON , Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Although over 800 British doctors, nurses and paramedics have applied to work in Sierra Leone to combat the Ebola virus, charities say rumors have dampened recruiting.

"There's some serious fear and paranoia around that's not based on facts, and they haven't anything to worry about. If someone doesn't have symptoms you can't give someone Ebola," said Sean Casey of the International Medical Corps' response team in Liberia.

Casey added he has heard anecdotal stories of medical personnel returning home to Britain and being shunned by friends who fear they will contract the disease.

"If people feel like they are going to be a pariah they are not going to volunteer. These people who volunteer should feel like heroes. They have risked everything. But if people are worried that when they come home they are going to be looked down upon and shunned by their families and friends, this could really compromise the response."

The United States and the United Kingdom are constructing 20 new Ebola treatment centers in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Of the 800 who applied in Britain, only 120 have thus far been vetted and approved. They still must go through a two-week training session before leaving for West Africa.

The largest nation-provider of medical professionals working in West Africa, currently, is Cuba, which has sent at least 65 to Sierra Leone and is preparing to send 300 more to Sierra Leone and Guinea. While the United States is the largest financial donor, it has sent only 65 uniformed officers of the Public Health Commissioned Corps, a division of the U.S. Public Health Service.