The announcement is part of a campaign to urge Sierra Leoneans to abandon traditional burial practices that are fueling the spread of Ebola in the West African country. Williams, a Sierra Leonean-American doctor who works for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, took to the airwaves last month as part of efforts to encourage people to avoid dangerous burial practices. [...] similar pledges have been made by prominent Sierra Leoneans, including the communications director for the Health Ministry, pop stars and radio DJ's. A well-attended funeral where many people touch the body provides the opportunity for the disease to disperse into a crowd and then be carried long distances back to their homes, where it can seed new clusters, according to Rebecca Bunnell, a behavioral epidemiologist with the CDC. Some experts have also urged families to apologize to the corpse before handing it over for a safe burial, said Dr.