Ebola virus is an often fatal hemorrhagic disease that is currently ravaging the populations of West African countries including Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.  "The current outbreak in West Africa is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976." (World Health Organization, 2014)  The brutal symptoms of this disease most commonly include fever, headache, vomitting and diarrhea, and "cause endothelial damage, hemorrhage and shock within a relatively short period." (American Journal of Nursing, 2002)  

        Specifically in Sierra Leone, this epidemic has fostered a wide variety of attitudes as the death toll continues to rise. These attitudes include a sense of gratefulness for foreign relief workers, but also feelings of mistrust, anger and frustration.  The presence of the media in Sierra Leone, in combination with international relief workers and government agencies further these frustrations and “make a mockery of a national tragedy,” according to The Concord Times of Freetown, Sierra Leone.  The fact that Sierra Leone is under an international spotlight during the Ebola outbreak is cause for concern among citizens, and can easily lead to tension between Sierra Leone, its people, and those who want to help.