Gallery: How Ebola Healthcare Workers Get Dressed
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Thelma Kaime, age 36, gets ready to suit up and go into an isolation ward for Ebola patients in Monrovia, Liberia. She says loves working there because she saves lives.
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Kaime puts on rubber gloves as the first step.
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Next, Kaime puts on the pants of a Tyvek suit.
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Next Kaime puts on rubber boots.
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Kaime used to work at a hospital in a rural area of a country before taking a job as a health promoter at an NGO and then coming to work in an Ebola ward in Monrovia.
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Kaime lives in Paynseville, an area of Monrovia that has many cases of Ebola. She worries for her children and tells them that they need to play alone right now.
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Kaime wears a face mask, goggles, and hair net.
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The hood of the suit goes up next.
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Kaime then puts on an additional, larger hood on top.
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As the final step, Kaime puts on an apron and an extra pair of gloves.
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Mark Nyenti, a member of a burial team prepares to collect a body in New Kru Town, a suburb of Monrovia.
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Nyenti puts on gloves and boots as a first step.
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Then Nyenti puts on his mask.
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A full-body Tyvek goes over Nyenti's scrubs.
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Next he puts on a pair of goggles and an apron.
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The final step is a second pair of gloves.
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Sonnie Ville, a former office clerk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was out of work when all non-essential staff were sent home because of Ebola. She took a job at MSF as a health promoter.
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Ville has been engaged for a year now, and says she will get married "after Ebola." As the first step to get ready to go talk to patients in an Ebola ward, Ville puts on rubber gloves.
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Next, Ville puts on a giant Tyvek suit. For three weeks, Ville lied to her mother, keeping her new job a secret.
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Ville, who is 34 and has two children named Thomas and Solomon, worries about Ebola but does her work anyway. Here, she puts on a face mask.
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Ville explains how the disease works to patients and their family members, but most are too stressed to listen carefully. "You take it step by step and explain to them." Over her face mask and suit, Ville wears a giant white hood with cut outs for the eyes.
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The first day, Ville nearly quit. "I was so afraid," she says. "But I encouraged myself that I can make it." The next step is putting on a rubber apron.
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Finally, Ville puts on goggles and another pair of rubber gloves. Many elements of her outfit are secured with duct tape for an extra seal. "My people are dying, and if I go back home, more people will die."
