[3] In 2014, it was discovered that samples of suspected Lassa fever showed evidence of the Zaire strain of Ebola virus in Sierra Leone as early as 2006.

[3] It is suspected that fruit bats are natural carriers of disease, native to this region of Africa including Sierra Leone and also a popular food source for both humans and wildlife.

[6][7] Transmission is believed to be by contact with the blood and body fluids of those infected with the virus, as well as by handling raw bushmeat such as bats and monkeys, which are important sources of protein in West Africa.

Infectious body fluids include blood, sweat, semen, breast milk, saliva, tears, feces, urine, vaginal secretions, vomit, and diarrhea.

[33] On 29 July, well-known physician Sheik Umar Khan, Sierra Leone's only expert on hemorrhagic fever, died after contracting Ebola at his clinic in Kenema.

[52] As of late September, about 2 million people were in areas of restricted travel,[53] which included Kailahun, Kenema, Bombali, Tonkolili, and Port Loko Districts.

[77] On 9 October, the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters was activated on Sierra Leone's behalf, the first time that its charitably repurposed satellite imaging assets had been deployed in an epidemiological role.

[78][79] On 14 October 2014, 800 Sierra Leone peacekeepers due to relieve a contingent deployed in Somalia, were placed under quarantine when one of the soldiers tested positive for Ebola.

According to Abdul Sesay, a local health official, 15 suspected deaths with 2 confirmed cases of the deadly disease were reported on 16 October, in the village of Fakonya.

[85] Officials struggled to maintain order in one town after a medical team trying to take a blood sample from a corpse were blocked by an angry machete-wielding mob.

[104] On 26 November, it was reported that due to Sierra Leone's increased Ebola transmission, the country would surpass Liberia in the total cases count.

[110] On 6 December, a report indicated that the Canadian Armed Forces would send a medical team to the country of Sierra Leone to help combat the Ebola virus epidemic.

[112] On 9 December, Sierra Leone authorities placed the Eastern Kono District in a two-week lock-down following the alarming rate of infection and deaths there.

[115] On 13 December, it was reported that the first Australian facility had been opened; "operations will be gradually scaled up to full capacity at 100 beds under strict guidelines to ensure infection control procedures are working effectively and trained staff ... are in place", one source indicated.

Teams distributed 1.5 million antimalarial treatments in Freetown and surrounding districts with the aim of protecting people from malaria during the disease's peak season.

[152] Prior to this case WHO had advised, "we anticipate more flare-ups and must be prepared for them ... massive effort is underway to ensure robust prevention, surveillance and response capacity across all three countries by the end of March.

[170] On 17 November 2014, a sixth doctor, Dr Martin Salia, died as a result of Ebola infection, after being transported by medevac to Nebraska Medical Center in the United States.

The doctor died hours before he was to receive ZMAb, an experimental treatment from Canada, according to Dr. Brima Kargbo the country's chief medical officer.

[182] On 21 September 2014, Spain evacuated a Catholic priest who had contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone with Hospital Order of San Juan de Dios.

[189] "Just because someone is exposed to the deadly virus, it doesn't necessarily mean they are infected", said Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH.

[204] On 12 November 2014, Dr Martin Salia, a permanent resident of the United States, tested positive for Ebola while working as a specialist surgeon at the Connaught Hospital in Freetown.

[208][209] On 5 October, The New York Times reported that a shipping container full of protective gowns, gloves, stretchers, mattresses and other medical supplies had been allowed to sit unopened on the docks in Freetown, Sierra Leone, since 9 August.

[210] The New York Times noted that in the 2 months that the shipping container remained on the docks in Freetown, health workers in Sierra Leone endured severe shortages of protective supplies, with some nurses having to wear street clothes.

[210] David Tam-Baryoh, a radio journalist, was held for 11 days when he and a talk show guest, an opposition party spokesperson, criticised how President Ernest Bai Koroma handled the Ebola outbreak in a live broadcast on 1 November 2014.

Amid concerns for his health, Tam-Baryoh apparently signed a confession to ensure his release from the prison, engineered by a committee made up of his lawyer, 2 journalists and a peace studies lecturer of the University of Sierra Leone.

Rightsway International, an independent human rights group, has condemned President Koroma for allegedly dictating to the committee about obtaining the confession.

A statement later released by the group read:[213]Rightsway is disappointed that Tam Baryoh's forced confession has been published widely by pro-government media outlets and social networks.

This is a media propaganda tool used by dictatorial regimes, to avoid being exposed, investigated and punished for the grave violations of human rights.On 21 October, there was Ebola related violence and rioting in the eastern town of Koidu, with police imposing a curfew.

[218] Countries at higher risk for Ebola in Africa include Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Senegal.

[citation needed] The outbreak was noted for increasing hand washing stations, and reducing the prevalence of physical greetings such as hand-shakes between members of society.