Dear Colleagues,
As of 22 March there have been 24,900 reported confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of EVD with over 10,326 reported deaths. Seventy-nine new confirmed cases of Ebola were reported in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone during the week: the lowest weekly total of new cases so far this year. There were 45 new confirmed cases reported from Guinea and 33 new cases in Sierra Leone. Liberia, having reported no cases for 3 consecutive weeks, confirmed that a new EVD case of was reported on 20 March. Investigations into the case in Liberia are ongoing.
With the exception of the case in Liberia, Ebola transmission has been limited to districts in and around Conakry to the north and Freetown to the south. According to officials, many people in this region who have had contact with Ebola patients can move relatively freely back and forth across the shared border. The WHO has indicated that joint surveillance teams are now tackling cross-border transmission in the area.
Response indicators for Sierra Leone continue to improve. During the week 84% of confirmed cases came from registered contacts and there were no reports of unsafe burials. In an effort to stamp of the disease Sierra Leone's President Ernest Koromo has ordered the country's entire population remain in their homes on 27-29 March. The campaign which is called ‘Zero Ebola’ also requires all Sierra Leoneans to stay indoors on three consecutive Saturday — April 4, 11 and 18. During the lockdowns health officials will go house-to-house to identify the sick. The declining number of cases in Sierra Leone and Liberia as well as a shrinking transmission zone means that treatment capacity currently far exceeds demand in the two countries. The WHO is working with local authorities to decommission unneeded facilities.
While Guinea has seen instances of new infections declining nationwide, its outbreak continues to be driven by unknown chains of transmission. Authorities have yet to identify and isolate the sources of new cases as fewer than half of this week’s cases arose from known contacts. The number of reported unsafe burials has also increased. Twenty-six unsafe burials were reported in the week, compared with 22 the previous week.
There was one new health worker infection in the week to 22 March, reported in Conakry. This brings the total number of health worker infections reported in the three countries to 853, with 494 deaths.
Pease 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
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