And while Australians generally have been criticised for not doing enough to help, it is heartening to know that at least one Port expatriate has been working at the centre of the epidemic in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown.

Michael Duff, the 32-year-old son of Birubi Beach surf club president Rob, is a director and producer with award-winning filmmaking team Goodmorinigbeautiful Films focusing on social and environmental issues.

"Our team happened to be working in Sierra Leone long before the outbreak of Ebola and I was living with my girlfriend [Katherine Owen], a London university graduate working in public health," Mr Duff said.

"We moved there in 2012 and while many westerners fled the country after the Ebola outbreak in May, we found it difficult to leave.

"Kat took on the role of health educator and program planner. I became the first contact for many of the world media organisations, supplying them with still photographs and film.

"The work was intense and constant; before flying home to Anna Bay in December, I had not had a day off for six months."

Having studied television production at a Canberra university, Mr Duff worked in animations and graphics before he tried his luck overseas.

"I bought a one-way ticket to Hong Kong and planned to backpack through south-east Asia when I met up with a friend in Cambodia who offered me some work doing charity videos," he said.

"I had planned to stay a couple of weeks but one job led to another and I ended up staying for three years."

Mr Duff got his big break when his team was asked to do a series of low-budget films around the world.

The crew returned to Asia to film in some of the most remote and unfriendly areas, including the jungles of east Burma and the Mekong River.

Mr Duff said he went to Sierra Leone to capture the country's post-war development and was soon caught up in the Ebola epidemic.

"The people there are devastated," he said.

"I have talked to some of the doctors dealing with Ebola victims every day and they urgently need aid.

"Both Kat and I take all the necessary precautions, like wash our hands with chlorine at least five times a day and constantly have our temperatures taken."

Mr Duff said it was a ritual he also faced on his return to Australia.

"It's great to be home and get a break, the luxury of having power and water," he said.

"The first aid room in Birubi surf club is in better condition than most hospitals over there but my work in Africa is not done and I need to get back," he said.

Mr Duff flew out of Sydney bound for Freetown last Friday.