Ebola cases top over 15, 900 – WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) says so far 15,935 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been reported in six affected countries.

The countries are Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Spain and the United States of America and two previously affected countries namely Nigeria and Senegal up to the end of November 23.

A statement issued by WHO and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Thursday said in all there had been 5,689 reported deaths.

It said cases and deaths continue to be under-reported in this outbreak, adding that reported case incidence was stable in Guinea with 148 confirmed cases reported in the week to November 23, stable or declining in Liberia with 67 new confirmed cases in the week to November 23, and might still be rising in Sierra Leone with 385 new confirmed cases in the week to November 23.

It said the total number of cases reported in Sierra Leone since the outbreak began would soon eclipse the number reported from Liberia.

According to the statement the case fatality rate across the three most-affected countries in patients with a recorded definitive outcome was approximately 60 per cent.

It said three health-care workers were reported infected with EVD in Guinea in the week to November 23.

The statement said response activities continue to intensify in line with the UNMEER aim to isolate 70 per cent of EVD cases and safely bury 70 per cent of EVD-related deaths by December 1.

It said Guinea isolates over 70 per cent of all reported cases of EVD, and had more than 80 per cent of required safe burial teams.

It noted that progress on isolation and safe burials had apparently been slower in parts of Liberia and Sierra Leone, although uncertainties in data preclude firm conclusions.

The statement said: “At a national level, both countries are apparently unable to isolate 70 per cent of patients, although data on isolation is up to 3 weeks out of date.

“Every EVD-affected district in the three intense-transmission countries has access to a laboratory for case confirmation within 24 hours of sample collection.

“All three countries report that more than 80 per cent of registered contacts associated with known cases of EVD are traced, though the low mean number of contacts registered per case suggests that contact tracing is still a challenge in areas of intense transmission.“