After appearing to be under control with a declining number of new cases, the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Western Africa is spreading in a second wave according to the latest official announcement from the World Health Organization.
Infection Control Today reports Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa: 10 New Cases, 7 Deaths
The World Health Organization offers these breakout numbers per country, starting with Guinea where the outbreak started.
Cases and deaths attributable to Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak continue to be reported from new (Telimele and Boffa) and some affected districts (Conakry and Macenta) that did not report cases for more than 42 days. Since the last update on May 28, 2014, 10 new cases and 7 new deaths have been reported. The current evolving epidemiological situation could be partly explained by persistent community resistance in some communities in Gueckedou, Macenta, and Conakry.
As of May 28, 2014, a cumulative total of 291 clinical cases of EVD, including 193 deaths have been reported. The classification of these cases and deaths are as follows: confirmed, 172 cases and 108 deaths; probable, 71 cases and 62 deaths; and suspected, 48 cases and 23 deaths. The breakdown of cases and deaths by affected areas is as follows: Conakry, 53 cases and 27 deaths; Gueckedou, 179 cases and 133 deaths; Macenta, 40 cases and 23 deaths; Kissidougou, 7 cases and 5 deaths; Dabola, 4 cases and 4 deaths, Djinguiraye, 1 case and 1 death; and Boffa, 4 cases and 0 deaths.
Sierra Leone
As May 29, 2014, 34 new cases (7 confirmed, 3 probable, and 24 suspected) and one suspected death were reported from five districts. This brings the cumulative total number of clinical cases of EVD to 50 (14 confirmed, 3 probable, and 33 suspected) including 6 deaths (2 confirmed, 3 probable and 1 suspected). The geographical distribution of these cases and deaths are as follows: Kailahun (37 cases and 6 deaths), Kenema (1 case and 0 death), Koinadugu (1 case and 0 death), Bo (1 case and 0 death), Moyamba and (1 case and 0 death).
Liberia has one new suspected case, with 10 deaths suspected to have been from Ebola.
The World Health Organization explained the challenges faced in containing this outbreak of Ebola include, "community resistance, inadequate treatment facilities and insufficient human resources in certain affected areas."
Ebola death toll rises in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone raised its death toll from the highly contagious Ebola virus on Monday, sparking fears that the deadly epidemic gripping west Africa is spreading.
“As of now, the update is 15 confirmed cases out of 36 suspected cases documented. Out of the 15, we now have five deaths,” he told reporters.
Three of the patients had been undergoing treatment at a health facility in eastern Sierra Leone while two others were among four sick patients removed from an isolation facility by family members and taken back to their home village.
No vaccine or cure exists for the Ebola virus, which takes between 2 to 21 days after infection to cause symptoms, with death usually coming within a few days after than in 70% to 90% of cases.
Symptoms include severe fever, muscle pain, weakness, vomiting, and diarrhea, followed by internal and external bleeding and organ failure.
Examples of the WHO means by "community resistance" is illustrated by recent cases of family members breaking into an isolation unit to take sick, or even dead family members back to their villages, which of course creates great risk of spreading further infection.
Last month, I reported a case of a mob in one villages attacking and stoning health workers from Doctors Without Borders who had to flee from the heath center established in the remote village in Guinea.
Despite these challenges the WHO, Doctors Without Borders, and government officials from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have done a fairly good job of containing the outbreak so far from spreading outside of the original epicenters of the outbreak.
Our prayers and best wishes go out to all the victims and their families, as well as all West Africans confronting this challenging and terrible outbreak.
