Uh oh: Ebola isn’t going away in West Africa, and experts are worried

Uh oh: Ebola isn’t going away in West Africa, and experts are worried

Even though deaths have dropped, authorities haven't been able to stamp out this stubborn disease.

The panic over Ebola that gripped the world last year seemed to have dropped off in recent months as deaths fell in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea where the outbreak occurred — but the disease simply refuses to go away.

Sierra Leon and Guinea in particular are struggling, as several times they have seen cases of Ebola dip to near zero and then suddenly flare back up, with 14 new cases reported in Sierra Leone this week and 10 in Guinea, according to an MPR News report.

Now, Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai is Koroma is ordering a new round of quarantines in a desperate attempt to knock out the virus, putting in place curfews and instructing the military to enforce the new restrictions for a 21-day period. Those who violate the quarantine face arrest.

Guinea may face a harder road than Sierra Leone, as the outbreak has been going on for a longer time in that country compared to Sierra Leone. Also, cases tend to be more spread out, and rural communities have sent away health workers.

The report quoted Dr. Daniel Lucey, who is a professor of immunology at Georgetown University and recently went to Guinea, as saying that it will be difficult to get to zero cases in both countries and stay there.

One particularly bad indicator is that those who die from Ebola are typically found in their homes and are only diagnosed with the disease after dying, meaning that they have been contagious for potentially weeks and could have exposed it to others.

A total of 2,000 contacts of Ebola patients in the region are being monitored, but there is still no guarantee that others aren’t out there, waiting ot spread Ebola to others.

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