Ebola endemic risk remains in west Africa, scientists warn

THE GUARDIAN      by Sarah Boseley                                                                         Feb. 25, 2015
 Scientists are warning of a real risk that the Ebola virus disease could become endemic in west Africa if efforts to end the epidemic slacken as the number of cases falls.

 All previous outbreaks of Ebola were stamped out within months and the virus disappeared from the human population each time. Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, however, have been in the grip of the virus for more than a year. While the numbers of cases dropped dramatically in December and early January, they have now plateaued and there are fears that the disease may not be totally eradicated....

Dr Margaret Harris in the director general’s office of the World Health Organisation said they were at “a bump in the road”.

She said: "... we were expecting this plateau. It’s where we get down to harder cases. Communities in some places still don’t believe there is Ebola or have anxieties about notifying cases within their families because they fear quarantine.”

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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/25/ebola-endemic-west-africa-scientists-warn