Ebola not over yet, new cases soar in Guinea , LIberia, Sierra Leone

Ebola not over yet, new cases soar in Guinea , LIberia, Sierra Leone

The weekly number of new Ebola cases registered across Guinea , Liberia and
Sierra Leone rose in the last week of January, marking the first hike in 2015 , the
World Health Organization said Wednesday .

“ Weekly case incidence increased in all three countries for the first time this
year ,” the UN health agency said .

During the seven days leading up to February 1, 124 new cases were confirmed
across the three west African countries at the epicentre of the devastating
outbreak .

Thirty- nine of the new cases were in Guinea , where the outbreak began in
December 2013 , with at least 11 new cases attributed to a single unsafe burial .
A week earlier, the country had confirmed just 30 new cases .

Liberia meanwhile recorded five new cases last week , up from four the week
before , and Sierra Leone confirmed 80 new cases , up from 65 , according to the
latest statistics.

“ Continued community resistance , increasing geographical spread in Guinea and
widespread transmission in Sierra Leone , and a rise in incidence show that the
( Ebola ) response still faces significant challenges, ” the WHO said .

In total, 22 , 495 people have been infected with the virus across nine countries ,
and 8, 981 of them have died, according to the latest numbers .

All but 15 of the deaths have occurred in Guinea , Liberia and Sierra Leone .
– Unsafe burial sparks outbreak – Massive efforts and funds have been poured into trying to rid the three west
African countries of the Ebola scourge, and in recent weeks a sharp drop in new
cases gave rise to optimism that the worst was over .

Ensuring safe burials of the highly contagious bodies of those who die from the
virus has been a top priority .

But Wednesday ’ s numbers showed the message still had not gotten through , with
devastating consequences in Guinea , where a single unsafe burial in early
January in the eastern prefecture of Lola, near the Ivory Coast , led to at least 11
infections there , the WHO said .

And with a prefecture near the Mali border recording its first cases , the WHO
said Mali and Senegal were planning a meeting with Guinea to strengthen the
surveillance coordination.

Guinea counts a total of 2, 975 cases , including 1, 944 deaths , according to the
latest statistics.

The situation in Liberia , once the hardest -hit country and counting a towering
total of 8, 745 cases and 3, 746 deaths , meanwhile appeared under control .
– ‘ Intense transmission’ –
But the WHO expressed deep concern over the situation in Sierra Leone , which
counts the most cases , at 10 ,740 , including 3, 276 deaths .

The UN agency warned of “ intense transmission” in the west of the country .
Freetown reported 22 new confirmed cases last week up from 20 the week
before , while neighbouring district Port Loko “ saw a resurgence of cases , with 36
new confirmed cases compared with six the previous week , ” it said .

The situation in Sierra Leone is far from under control , with 12 deaths last week
occurring in the community and not in the safety of Ebola treatment centres and
with 11 unsafe burials reported , the WHO said .

The country is also falling short of the target of having 100 percent of new
cases arising among registered contacts , “ so that each and every chain of
transmission can be tracked and terminated . ”

In Liberia , 100 percent of new cases stemmed from already registered contacts
at the end of last month, while in Guinea 54 percent did.

But in Sierra Leone , only 21 percent , or 26 of 121 confirmed cases , arose among
already registered contacts during the week leading to January 18, the WHO
said .
Ebola , one of the deadliest viruses known to man , is spread only through direct
contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person showing symptoms such as
fever or vomiting .

People caring for the sick or handling the bodies of people infected with Ebola
are especially exposed.

As of February 1, a total of 822 health workers were known to have contracted
the virus and 488 of them had died , the WHO said .