Development

At least five people have died since 29 February 2016 due to a new flare up of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Guinea [1]. The first two confirmed cases of the virus were detected in the village of Korokpara and involved a mother and her five-year-old son. These are the first cases of Ebola in Guinea since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the country free of the disease in December 2015. This declaration came two years after an outbreak that began in 2013 killed approximately 2,500 people in Guinea and over 11,000 in West Africa [2]. The WHO had warned that Guinea, as well as the neighboring countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone, are at risk for ongoing smaller outbreaks due to persistence of the virus in some previously infected individuals [3]. Guinea’s 90-day heightened surveillance period was set to end in late March [4].

29 March 2016 – The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today said West Africa's Ebola outbreak no longer constitutes an international public health threat, declaring that the 20-month global emergency response is over but stressing that a “high level of vigilance” must be maintained.

After attending school on Monday and Tuesday, the boy was admitted to a hospital and was transported to an Ebola treatment unit on Wednesday, the official said.

The boy’s test came back positive on Thursday, as did subsequent tests for his father and a sibling, the official said, adding that at least seven health care workers may have treated him without the protective equipment essential for Ebola cases.