WHO reports decrease in Ebola cases

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that the number of new Ebola cases in West Africa has gone down. In the week ending February 22, there were 99 new cases, against 128 in the previous week.

Of the 99 new infections, 63 were in Sierra Leone, 35 in Guinea and only one was registered in Liberia.

"Cases continue to arise from unknown chains of transmission," the WHO said, adding that there was good reason to believe that "a significant number of individuals are still either unable or reluctant to seek treatment," as 16 of the cases had only been identified after post-mortem testing.

Increase in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, one of the three countries hardest hit by the epidemic, announced on Wednesday nonetheless that it was witnessing an increase of Ebola infections. The country has registered around 3,400 deaths over the past nine months since the virus spread from neighboring Guinea.

Palo Conteh, head of the government's National Ebola Response Center, told the press in Freetown that there had been a spike in infections to 16 this week, as compared to only two last week.

"We warned then against complacency and stated clearly that we must anticipate spikes in cases as we strive to get to zero. These numbers are rising because people continue to flout the law with impunity," he said, referring to traditional funeral rites, which had been banned after the spread of the disease, in a law that has proven difficult to enforce.

Conteh also said that funeral homes had reopened illegally and were accepting medical certificates as proof that the deceased were Ebola-free.

"Let me state that the safe medical and dignified burial policy still stands and I am sending a strong warning to all district medical officers, heads of hospitals and municipalities to desist from issuing certificates that permit people to embark on unsafe burials," he added.

So far over 23,500 cases of Ebola have been reported in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia; in those countries, over 9,500 people have died of the disease since the largest recorded outbreak began over a year ago.

sb/msh (Reuters, AFP)