Armed group storms Ebola quarantine in Liberian capital

Armed men stormed a quarantine facility in Monrovia, Liberia, allowing around 30 people believed to have Ebola to escape, raising new concerns about the efficacy of quarantines in countries coping with the outbreak of the Ebola virus.

Voice of America says that a crowd, some of whom were armed, broke into the isolation ward yelling, "There is no Ebola," before setting patients free and looting the facility.

CBS News reports that among the items looted were bloodstained sheets and mattresses. The Ebola virus spreads through contact with bodily liquids such as blood or sexual excretions.

CBS also says the incident took place just one day after a crowd of hundreds gathered and chanted, "No Ebola in West Point," a neighborhood of Liberia. That protest was brought about by the presence of burial teams and their police escorts who had come to collect the bodies of those who had died from Ebola, in order to ensure their burial did not further spread the disease. That crew was forced to flee in the face of the community's opposition.

A health official told Voice of America that all of the patients at the quarantine had tested positive for Ebola and were waiting to be transferred to a hospital for further treatment. The theft of contagious material and the release of infected individuals have only compounded fears that the disease will continue to spread, and governments in the area are incapable of containing it.

While the governments of those afflicted countries have quarantined villages that are severely affected by the disease, they have also failed to provide adequate food, medical, and other supplies to make life in those areas bearable. As people become increasingly desperate, it is likely they will try to violate the quarantines. The poor infrastructure and security systems in those countries mean that infected individuals could easily slip through the cracks.