EBOLA/EVD [to 7 March 2015]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC); “Threat to international peace and security” (UN Security Council)

WHO: Ebola Situation Report – 4 March 2015
Corrigendum as of 6 March 2015]
[Excerpt; Editor’s text bolding]
SUMMARY
:: A total of 132 new confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) were reported in the week to 1 March, an increase on the previous week (99 new cases). Liberia reported no new confirmed cases this week, the first time since the week of 26 May 2014. The weekly number of confirmed cases has increased in both Sierra Leone and Guinea. Transmission remains widespread in Sierra Leone, which reported new confirmed cases in 8 districts during the week to 1 March. In Guinea, Forecariah and Conakry reported a marked increase in case numbers compared with the previous week.

:: Guinea reported 51 new confirmed cases in the week to 1 March, compared with 35 cases the previous week. Cases continue to arise from unknown sources with only 49% of cases arising from registered contacts. Seven prefectures reported new cases, with the largest number of new confirmed cases reported from 3 neighbouring western prefectures: Conakry (17 cases), Coyah (5 cases), and Forecariah (23 cases). Macenta also reported 2 new confirmed cases, a district that has not reported a confirmed case for 4 weeks. Low levels of transmission continue in the eastern prefecture of Lola (1 new case), bordering Côte d’Ivoire.

:: Sierra Leone reported 81 new confirmed cases from 8 districts in the week to 1 March. A previously reported cluster of cases in the Aberdeen fishing community of the capital, Freetown, has seeded outbreaks in other districts, notably Bombali which reported 22 new confirmed cases. There were 26 new confirmed cases in Freetown and 16 new cases in Port Loko over the same period.

:: Liberia has reported no new confirmed cases this week. Contacts from the last known chain of transmission, in the St Paul’s Bridge district of Monrovia, are being monitored. In the week to 1 March, 277 samples were tested for EVD nationwide, no new test results were positive.

:: The number of confirmed EVD deaths occurring in the community in Guinea and Sierra Leone remains high, suggesting that the need for early isolation and treatment is not yet understood, accepted or acted upon. In Guinea in the week to 1 March over half (53%: 17 out of 32) of reported confirmed deaths occurred in the community, an increase from 42% the previous week (9 out of 21). In Sierra Leone, 16% of confirmed EVD deaths occurred in the community in the week to 1 March, compared with 21% the previous week.

:: Unsafe burials continue to occur, with 16 reports of unsafe burials in both Guinea and Sierra Leone, respectively, during the weeks to 1 March and to 22 February.
Laboratories in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone processed 270, 277 and 1531 samples, respectively, in the week to 1 March.

:: Mindful of the risk of cross border transmission, delegations from Guinea, Mali and Senegal met on 25-26 February 2015 and agreed to strengthen cross-border cooperation in case management (including the sharing of laboratory resources), community-based surveillance, risk communication and information sharing, and screening at border crossings.

:: In the week to 1 March, 1 new health worker infection was reported Guinea, bringing the total of health worker infections reported across the three most-affected countries since the start of the outbreak to 839, with 491 deaths.

COUNTRIES WITH WIDESPREAD AND INTENSE TRANSMISSION
:: There have been over 23,900 reported confirmed, probable, and suspected cases cases of EVD in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone (table 1), with over 9800 reported deaths (outcomes for many cases are unknown). A total of 51 new confirmed cases were reported in Guinea, 0 in Liberia, and 81 in Sierra Leone in the 7 days to 1 March.

:: The total number of confirmed and probable cases is similar in males and females (table 2). Compared with children (people aged 14 years and under), people aged 15 to 44 are approximately three times more likely to be affected. People aged 45 and over are nearly four times more likely to be affected than children.

:: A total of 839 confirmed health worker infections have been reported in the 3 intense-transmission countries; there have been 491 reported deaths…