The World Health Organization released a new protocol Friday for the burial of Ebola victims in an effort to slow transmission of the disease and reinforce signs of progress in curbing the spread of the epidemic in West Africa. The new protocol emphasized that burials needed to be safe but also dignified, taking account of religious and cultural sensitivities to build trust in communities where some people have accused burial teams of spreading the disease. Inviting the bereaved to be involved in digging the graves of relatives and offering Muslim families an alternative to ritual washing of the dead, a practice that could involve lethal exposure to the virus, “will make a significant difference in curbing Ebola transmission,” the WHO said.
