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New Ebola cases show first rise in 2015 | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
The number of new cases of Ebola has gone up in all three of West Africa's worst-hit countries in the last week of January, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. | |
It is the first weekly increase in 2015, ending a series of encouraging declines. | |
The WHO says Sierra Leone registered 80 of the 124 new cases, Guinea 39 and Liberia the remaining five. | |
Almost 9,000 people have died from Ebola since December 2013. | |
Only a week ago the WHO announced its lowest weekly tally of new cases since June 2014, raising hopes that a turning point in the battle against the disease might have been reached. | |
But suspicion of aid workers, especially in Guinea, and unsafe local practices were continuing to hamper efforts to contain the virus, the United Nations agency said. | |
Eleven new cases were blamed on one unsafe burial that took place in eastern Guinea on the border with Cote d'Ivoire, where a rapid response team has now been deployed, the WHO adds. | |
Mourners have caught the disease in the past by touching the highly-contagious bodies of dead loved ones. | |
Nearly one-third of Guinea's 34 prefectures had reported at least one security incident or other form of refusal to cooperate with health workers in the previous week. | |
The WHO emphasised the need to step up efforts before the start of the April-May rainy season, when downpours can block roads and make it difficult for health teams to travel. |