Ebola cases hit 10,000 mark
World Health Organisation releases new figures, with practially all victims of virus within west African countries worst hit
Chris Johnston
TheGuardian.com
Saturday 25 October 2014
Ebola cases hit 10,000 mark
World Health Organisation releases new figures, with practially all victims of virus within west African countries worst hit
The number of people infected in the outbreak of Ebola has risen above 10,000, with the mortality rate now approaching 50%.
The World Health Organisation said on Saturday that the death toll had risen to 4,922 out of 10,141 known cases globally in eight countries as at 23 October. Those figures show about 200 new cases since the last report, four days ago.
The three worst-affected countries in west Africa – Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – account for the vast majority of cases, with only 10 deaths and 27 cases recorded elswhere, WHO said.
Of the eight districts of Liberia and Guinea that share a border with Ivory Coast, only two have yet to report confirmed or probable Ebola cases.
The overall figures include outbreaks in Nigeria, where there were 20 cases and eight deaths, and Senegal, where there was one case and no deaths, that the WHO has deemed to be over. It also included isolated cases in Spain, the US and a single case in Mali.
However, the totals are still likely to be an underestimate because many people in the worst-affected countries have been unable or too frightened to seek medical care. A shortage of labs capable of handling potentially infected blood samples has also made it difficult to track the outbreak.
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