Second Consecutive Weekly Increase in Ebola Cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone: WHO

by Dr. Trupti Shirole on June 12, 2015 at 7:39 AM

The Ebola epidemic has killed 11,158 of the 27,237 people infected by the deadly virus mostly in the West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Liberia was declared Ebola-free in May, 2015, but hopes that Sierra Leone and Guinea would quickly follow suit have been dashed in recent weeks by the World Health Organization revealing that the number of Ebola cases has risen in Guinea and Sierra Leone for the second consecutive week. Guinea has reported 16 new cases in the week ending June 7, 2015, while 15 new cases were found in neighboring Sierra Leone.

In the last week, 13 new cases had been found in Guinea, a clear increase on the nine reported a week before that. The pattern was similar in Sierra Leone, where 12 new cases were found in the last week of May, 2015, compared to only three the previous week. The WHO said, "This is the second consecutive weekly increase in case incidence."

Ebola Virus Disease

Ebola is caused by a virus via direct contact with body fluids or infected blood. Scientists have identified five types of Ebola or Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus.

The number of healthcare workers affected in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia has risen to 869, of whom 507 have died, since the current epidemic broke out in West Africa in December 2013.

The WHO also voiced concern that the areas affected in Guinea have increased. In the week leading up to June 7, 2015, two new cases were confirmed in Guinea's capital Conakry, which had been Ebola-free during the three previous weeks. The Ebola virus has also reappeared in the western Guinean region of Kindia, with three new cases identified there.

Source: AFP

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