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Two killed in Sierra Leone riot over Ebola blood test

Two killed in Sierra Leone riot over Ebola blood test

By Mary Papenfuss

KOIDU TOWN, Sierra Leone, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Two people were killed in a Sierra Leone riot that erupted as health workers attempted to remove the grandmother of a youth leader for Ebola testing, officials said Wednesday.

A curfew has been imposed on Koidu Town after a machete-wielding mob confronted the health workers, then vandalized buildings, including a local radio station, and shouted "No more Ebola" as police moved in to quell the violence. The district medical officer said he had been forced to abandon the local hospital because of the rioting. Officials did not reveal the identity those killed or how they died.

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The violence underscores the mounting tension and mistrust between the public and health workers at ground zero of the Ebola outbreak. Experts believe the disease is killing some 20 people a day in Sierra Leone, one of three hardest hit nations along with with Guinea and Liberia, with the total death toll hitting 4,500.

The news was better near the capital of Freetown where dozens of Ebola survivors were released from a treatment center free of disease. "I feel good because nothing hurts me anymore and I am feeling fine. I can do anything I want to do," said a 14-year-old girl as she left the center.

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