As Guinea and Sierra Leone trudge on in their battle against the Ebola virus, there is a glimmer of renewed hope that they may be gaining more ground in the victory so far as the number of new cases dropped again significantly this past week.
A total of 12 new cases were reported in the two countries.
With Guinea topping the chart with 9 cases and Sierra Leone 3 cases.
The was also a remarkable shrinking of the affected geographical locations.
The Forecariah Guinea district and the thickly populated water front areas of Freetown Sierra Leone were the main sources of the cases this past week.
There have been molecular and epidemiological predictions suggesting that the Forecariah district may be the last area to be rid of Ebola in Guinea due to its multiple transmission chains and the considerable large movement of people in the area.
"Operation Northern Push" began in Siera Leone last week under the directives of President Koroma, and it is aimed at pushing out what is left of Ebola in northern Sierra Leone so as to enable the country get to zero cases faster.
"Operation Northern Push" began in Siera Leone last week under the directives of President Koroma, and it is aimed at pushing out what is left of Ebola in northern Sierra Leone so as to enable the country get to zero cases faster.
The WHO said yesterday during a press conference that the Health workers working in the Ebola affected regions have been able to reach their goal of curbing the activity of the virus in the hard to reach areas ahead of the torrential rains.
The areas currently largely affected are the easily accessed coastal areas.
Predictions based on the unpredictability of weather conditions, diminishing funds and the turbulent political atmosphere in Guinea as the elections draw near have shown that it may take greater than 6 more months to get to zero cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone.
The latest finding on the Ebola virus is that it may remain hidden in pregnant women and may not show any obvious symptoms for some time.
This has been attributed to the lower immune response which is experienced in pregnancy.
Meanwhile the Ghanian minister of health announced on Monday that a nation wide sensitization program concerning the Ebola vaccine trial will begin in Accra Ghana starting from Wednesday the 17th. This is meant to educate the people concerning the proposed vaccine trial and dispel fears that are centred on misconceptions.
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