Dear Colleagues,

According to the WHO, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone recorded 128 new confirmed cases of Ebola in the week to February 15, the first decrease in three weeks. The year-long outbreak has now killed at least 9,365 people from among 23,218 cases recorded. The number of infected healthcare workers has reached 833, with 448 deceased.

Progress on eradicating the virus has been encouraging in Liberia. The country reported only 2 new confirmed cases in this reporting period. All confirmed cases were registered in Montserrado County - the only county to have reported a confirmed case within the past 29 days.  Despite the progress, rumors about routine vaccines contaminated with the Ebola virus fueled a number of security incidents in the country.

Community engagement remains a challenge in several areas in Guinea and Sierra Leone. Threats and violence against health workers have been reported in several of Guinea's districts and in four districts in Sierra Leone. Unfortunately, in both countries a good number of Ebola cases aren't detected until someone in the community has died from the disease.  There has also been an increase in unsafe burials - the two countries combined reported 84 unsafe burials in the week to February 15. Sierra Leone has placed 700 homes in the capital Freetown in quarantine and launched another door-to-door campaign to search hidden Ebola patients.

In the United Kingdom, there has been no further transmission of the disease and all contacts have completed the 21-day follow-up. If no other cases arise, the country should be declared EVD free in the first week of March.

Please email David Rolph, our director of Global Security, david_rolph@abtassoc.com and cc Sarah Dedic, sarah_dedic@abtassoc.com with any questions you have about the status of the outbreak. 

Best,

Jay

Jay L. Knott | Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer | Abt Associates

O: 301-347-5896| F: 301-828-9739 | www.abtassociates.com

Note: this email was sent BCC: All Staff Abt, All Abt JTA