WHO to Identify All West African Ebola Cases by End of May

The Associated Press reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) plans to identify and isolate all new Ebola cases in West Africa by the end of May. The organization’s aim is to stop the virus from spreading before the rainy season begins.

As quoted in the market news:

In a new Ebola plan released on Tuesday, the U.N. health agency said it hopes to limit transmission of the virus to the coastal areas of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone before the rainy season begins, normally in April or May.

WHO said the decline in Ebola’s spread has ‘plateaued,’ partly due to ‘persistently high transmission’ in Guinea and Sierra Leone. Officials say the rainy season will make it more difficult for responders to reach remote areas.

Although cases have dropped from the peaks of more than 800 cases per week in October, there is still a steady trickle of several dozen cases every week. Experts don’t know where most new cases are coming from in Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Click here to read the full Associated Press report.