Health & Medicine
WHO: Ebola Virus Outbreak Still "Serious" in West Africa
Thomas Carannante
First Posted: May 28, 2014 02:00 PM EDT
Last week the World Health Organization reported five deaths in Sierra Leone due to the Ebola virus, which was thought to be contained in West Africa following a multi-month outbreak. Now the WHO says the situation remains "serious."
Guinea was the original site of the Ebola virus outbreak for the past few months, but health officials established treatment centers and slowly contained the spread of the deadly virus. However, Guinea's capital, Conakry, recorded its first new Ebola cases in over a month. Two cases and one death were reported between May 25 and 27, which were the first of any such cases documented since April 26.
Additionally, twelve cases and four deaths were reported between May 23 and 26 in Telimele and Boffa - two districts north of the capital that hadn't recorded any cases of the virus during the two-month outbreak. Aboubacar Sidiki Diakité is in charge of the Guinean government's effort to control the Ebola virus outbreak, and he believes some factors are to blame for the recurrence of cases.
"The problem is that there are families that refuse to give information to health workers. They hid their sick to try to treat them through traditional methods," he told Reuters.
He also noted that all of the newer outbreaks have been traced back to cases in Conakry. Before the outbreak began spreading at alarming rates, health officials were concerned about the virus spreading to the capital because many of the residents live in close quarters, which could have made for an unprecedented outbreak, but health officials did a good job of containing it.
Nonetheless, since the first case was documented in December, the WHO recorded 281 laboratory confirmed cases of Ebola with 185 deaths. When the virus reached Conakry, health care workers were threatened by young people from the local community when they barged into a treatment center and accused the medical staff of bringing the virus to their country. The Doctors Without Borders staff said that this wasn't uncommon among populations who are unfamiliar with a disease.
The Guinea Ministry of Health and the WHO are continuing to work in order to rid West Africa of the deadly Ebola virus. However, the resurgence of cases is not helping their efforts.
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First Posted: May 28, 2014 02:00 PM EDT
Last week the World Health Organization reported five deaths in Sierra Leone due to the Ebola virus, which was thought to be contained in West Africa following a multi-month outbreak. Now the WHO says the situation remains "serious."
Guinea was the original site of the Ebola virus outbreak for the past few months, but health officials established treatment centers and slowly contained the spread of the deadly virus. However, Guinea's capital, Conakry, recorded its first new Ebola cases in over a month. Two cases and one death were reported between May 25 and 27, which were the first of any such cases documented since April 26.
Additionally, twelve cases and four deaths were reported between May 23 and 26 in Telimele and Boffa - two districts north of the capital that hadn't recorded any cases of the virus during the two-month outbreak. Aboubacar Sidiki Diakité is in charge of the Guinean government's effort to control the Ebola virus outbreak, and he believes some factors are to blame for the recurrence of cases.
"The problem is that there are families that refuse to give information to health workers. They hid their sick to try to treat them through traditional methods," he told Reuters.
He also noted that all of the newer outbreaks have been traced back to cases in Conakry. Before the outbreak began spreading at alarming rates, health officials were concerned about the virus spreading to the capital because many of the residents live in close quarters, which could have made for an unprecedented outbreak, but health officials did a good job of containing it.
Nonetheless, since the first case was documented in December, the WHO recorded 281 laboratory confirmed cases of Ebola with 185 deaths. When the virus reached Conakry, health care workers were threatened by young people from the local community when they barged into a treatment center and accused the medical staff of bringing the virus to their country. The Doctors Without Borders staff said that this wasn't uncommon among populations who are unfamiliar with a disease.
The Guinea Ministry of Health and the WHO are continuing to work in order to rid West Africa of the deadly Ebola virus. However, the resurgence of cases is not helping their efforts.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone