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Two new Ebola cases in Guinea confound hopes of end to outbreak | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Two people have fallen ill with Ebola in Guinea, the World Health Organisation has said, dashing hopes of an imminent end to the worst recorded outbreak of the disease after a two-week spell without any new cases across west Africa. | Two people have fallen ill with Ebola in Guinea, the World Health Organisation has said, dashing hopes of an imminent end to the worst recorded outbreak of the disease after a two-week spell without any new cases across west Africa. |
Guinea was weeks away from joining Liberia in being declared free of the virus that has killed more than 11,000 people in a near two-year rampage. Neighbouring Sierra Leone is also halfway through the 42-day countdown to being Ebola-free. | Guinea was weeks away from joining Liberia in being declared free of the virus that has killed more than 11,000 people in a near two-year rampage. Neighbouring Sierra Leone is also halfway through the 42-day countdown to being Ebola-free. |
Related: Ebola study finds women in Guinea who appear immune to the virus | Related: Ebola study finds women in Guinea who appear immune to the virus |
Authorities in Guinea said on Friday one of the cases in Forécariah, western Guinea, appeared to be linked to a previously known chain of infection, while the other in the capital, Conakry, seemed to be new. | |
“On the bumpy road we keep talking about – the high risk of recurrence – once again we are navigating a few bumps,” Margaret Harris, a WHO spokeswoman, told a briefing in Geneva. “Of course we didn’t want it, but we did expect it. Guinea hadn’t got to the stage where we were looking at 42 days.” | “On the bumpy road we keep talking about – the high risk of recurrence – once again we are navigating a few bumps,” Margaret Harris, a WHO spokeswoman, told a briefing in Geneva. “Of course we didn’t want it, but we did expect it. Guinea hadn’t got to the stage where we were looking at 42 days.” |
Ebola transmission is considered to be over once a locality has gone 42 days without a new case. | Ebola transmission is considered to be over once a locality has gone 42 days without a new case. |
A spokesman for Guinea’s anti-Ebola taskforce said the patient in Forécariah was discharged on Friday after being cured, leaving a 21-year-old man admitted to the Nongo treatment centre in Conakry, who was not on the contact list of any previous registered victims. | A spokesman for Guinea’s anti-Ebola taskforce said the patient in Forécariah was discharged on Friday after being cured, leaving a 21-year-old man admitted to the Nongo treatment centre in Conakry, who was not on the contact list of any previous registered victims. |
“We suspect that he contracted the disease by another means, perhaps sexual, but we cannot be sure for the time being,” said Fodé Tass Sylla. | “We suspect that he contracted the disease by another means, perhaps sexual, but we cannot be sure for the time being,” said Fodé Tass Sylla. |
A study this month showed the semen of male survivors can harbour the virus for nine months and the virus can also live on in other parts of the body. | A study this month showed the semen of male survivors can harbour the virus for nine months and the virus can also live on in other parts of the body. |
Related: Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey critically ill in deterioration that shocks experts | Related: Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey critically ill in deterioration that shocks experts |
A British nurse fell critically ill this week, 10 months after recovering from Ebola, underlining the lingering risks from the virus. | |
Liberia was declared transmission free on 3 September and Sierra Leone is counting down another 22 days until it is clear. | |
The medical toolkit for tackling Ebola has been transformed in the past few months by the success of a trial vaccine that is now used to treat each new case and their contacts who may be at risk from the highly contagious virus. | The medical toolkit for tackling Ebola has been transformed in the past few months by the success of a trial vaccine that is now used to treat each new case and their contacts who may be at risk from the highly contagious virus. |
But Harris said that the trial comes to an end in mid-November, potentially putting a question mark over the use of the vaccine beyond that date. | But Harris said that the trial comes to an end in mid-November, potentially putting a question mark over the use of the vaccine beyond that date. |
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