Ebola Cases in West Africa on the Rise for the Second Week

The World Health Organization (WHO) has notified a rise in the number of new Ebola cases in west Africa for the second week, after a previous fall. In the week up to February 8 a total of 144 new Ebola cases were registered, compared to 124 cases the previous week. The WHO said in its report, "Guinea reported a sharp increase in the incidence, with 65 new confirmed cases compared with 39 the week before. Transmission also remains widespread in Sierra Leone, which reported 76 new confirmed cases. Liberia again reported a low number of new confirmed cases, just three over the week in question."

A drop in new cases in recent weeks had given rise to optimism that the worst ever Ebola epidemic was coming to an end, before the WHO last week reported the first rise for 2015 in the weekly number of cases in all three countries. The WHO said, "The spike in cases in Guinea and continued widespread transmission in Sierra Leone underline the considerable challenges that must still be overcome to get to zero cases. The infrastructure, systems, and people needed to end the epidemic are now in place; response measures must now be fully implemented."

Source-Medindia