Ebola Virus Outbreak 2014

Ebola Virus Outbreak 2014: Ebola Hurting Coffin Business in Liberia

Ebola is at its most contagious after the patient with the disease dies, which in turn is taking a toll on Liberia's coffin business.

Esau Thalley, a 34-year-old manager of the biggest coffin business in Liberia, can't remember the last time he saw a customer. He told BuzzFeed that he typically sells 10-12 coffins a week during this time of year.
"In rainy season plenty people used to die in Liberia," Thalley told BuzzFeed. "Malaria. Diarrhea. Cold - just cold. Now, anybody die in the house, they say it's Ebola patient, even he been sick for four, five months. There are no more funerals."

Across the street, the city's most high class funeral home hasn't had a funeral in almost three weeks. There were 1,229 deaths in the area to date, according to The Associated Press.

Despite their cultural practices and religious beliefs, iberians are no longer buying coffins or having funerals because they are warned not to touch the dead body of someone who fell victim to Ebola by The World Health Organization, reports The Washington Post.

In Muslim tradition, loved ones are supposed to wash the dead body before a burial, according to WFAE reports.

It's dangerous for someone to touch the dead body of someone who died from Ebola because the disease forces the body to emit infectious fluids including vomit, diarrhea and blood, reports The Washington Post.

This was how the hospital's lead doctor, Dr. Samuel Brisbane, died.

Most people who die from Ebola are not buried and are left where they took their last breath. Some who die in a treatment center are sent to a burial ground outside of the community, dedicated to Ebola victims, to decrease the chances of the virus spreading, as The Washington Post reports.