PHOTOS: Inside the West African Ebola towns where locals are quarantined at gunpoint and desperate volunteers are paid N1,000 to bury the dead

Volunteers are being paid 1,073 Naira per day to sterilize and bury the bodies of those who have died after contracting the deadly Ebola virus.

As the crisis continues to spread across West African countries, workers in Kenema, Sierra Leone, have been pictured donning special protective gear and face masks to carry out the harrowing tasks of safely burying the infected bodies in graveyards.

Rigorous quarantine measures have been put in place across the country to stop the spread of Ebola, which the World Health Organisation says has now affected more than 2,600 people worldwide.

Meanwhile, in Liberia, the continuing spread of the virus has led to quarantines being put in place in one of the worst affected areas. In Dolo Town, soldiers have created a weapon-guarded blockades to enforce a strict quarantine on some 20,000 residents living near to the international airport.

Families, who live in the West Point area of Monrovia, where the outbreak has been particularly bad, have been left desperate as they are banned from leaving the area to stock up on everyday supplies.

The abandoned streets – including the usually-bustling shops, churches and market place – have become reminiscent of a ghost town, only seeing activity when hungry residents are allowed to stand behind a green rope and wait for their consignment of rice from the government.

There is no cure for Ebola and outbreaks have a death rate of up to 90 per cent. The effects of the disease normally appear between two and 21 days after infection. It is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through person-to-person transmission.

Several young volunteers, like these pictured, are dressing themselves in special protective uniforms to carry out the harrowing task or sterilizing the area and burying bodies around the Kptema graveyard, Kenema

Workers must also wear protective head gear and masks to carry out the work. There is no cure for Ebola and outbreaks have a death rate of up to 90 per cent

Meanwhile, in Dolo Town, Liberia, where the spread of the virus has been particularly severe, church members – led by Reverend James Blamah – gathered together during a Sunday service to pray for those who had been affected

Thousands of residents from Dolo Town are being taken to government clinics to be tested. Here, a Liberian Ministry of Health worker checks people for Ebola symptoms at a checkpoint near the international airport

A Liberian soldier working for the Ebola Task Force in Dolo Town stands to stop thousands of residents based near the international airport leaving the area, where a strict quarantine has been enforced by the government, in a bid to halt the spread of the virus

People wander through a temporary market searching for food. The government has been slow to provide food for those who are prevented from leaving the area where they live

In Dolo Town, Liberia, a girl sits in church as the pastor speaks about the Ebola virus during a Sunday service. Members of the Bethlehem World Outreach Ministry International prayed for Liberia’s health workers

In Monrovia, Liberia, soldiers scan people for signs of the Ebola virus, as they control people from entering the West Point area of the city, where the quarantine is in place

Liberia security forces dressed themselves in riot gear to create a blockade near to the West Point Ebola centre as the government clamps down on the movement of people

Residents wash with chlorine water while lining up to receive a ration of nine cups of rice each at a distribution centre in Dolo Town, Liberia. Riots can sometimes break out as desperate residents try and get enough food for their families

American aid goods are loaded onto a truck after it arrived by aircraft. The food is given to those who are quarantined to halt the spread of the virus

Men carry bags of food to the slum after it was sealed off by the government to halt the spread of the virus

Reference: Dailymail