WHO: New Ebola Cases in West Africa Drop Below 100 Last Week

Pawel Gaul/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The World Health Organization on Thursday released a new report on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, showing that the number of new cases identified in the last week had fallen below 100.

According to the WHO’s Ebola Situation Report, 99 new cases were detailed in the three countries most heavily affected by the outbreak — 65 in Sierra Leone, 30 in Guinea and four in Liberia. The total number of Ebola cases since the beginning of the outbreak is now at 22,092. At least 8,810 of those cases has resulted in death.

Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia have been the site of the vast majority of Ebola cases, with 22,057 cases in those three nations. A small number of cases have been detected in Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

The WHO says that the response to the Ebola situation “has now moved to a second phase, as the focus shifts from slowing the transmission to ending the epidemic.” Specifically, efforts are being shifted to ensure capacity for case finding and management, safe burials and community engagement.

Liberia and Sierra Leone each reported decreased incidents of new Ebola cases compared to last week, while the 30 cases in Guinea was up from 20 the week before.

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