by By Maria Cheng
In this file photo taken on Monday, March 2, 2015, a health care worker wearing virus protective gear before entering a high risk zone at an Ebola virus clinic operated by the International Medical Corps in Makeni, Sierra Leone. Despite the drop in reported Ebola cases, Dr. Bruce Aylward, leading WHO's Ebola response, declared Friday April 10, 2015, that it's too early for World Health Organization to downgrade the global emergency status of the biggest-ever Ebola outbreak in Africa. (AP Photo/ Michael Duff)
The World Health Organization says the year-long Ebola outbreak in West Africa still qualifies as an international emergency even though the number of cases has plummeted.
Last August, the U.N. health agency declared the epidemic of the lethal virus to be a global emergency after the deaths of nearly 1,000 people, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
At the peak last year, hundreds of new cases were being reported every week. In an update this week, WHO reported there were 30 confirmed cases last week in Guinea and Sierra Leone; the last case in Liberia died on March 27.
Dr. Bruce Aylward, who is leading WHO's Ebola response, said the decline appeared to be real, rather than just "a pothole on the bumpy road to get to zero cases."
To date, Ebola is estimated to have infected more than 25,500 people and killed 10,587, mostly in West Africa.
During a press briefing in Geneva on Friday, Aylward said WHO's Ebola emergency committee believes the risk of the virus spreading globally appears to be dropping even though officials still don't know where the virus is spreading in most cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone.
"We are still not controlling the epidemic," said Brice de le Vingne, director of operations for Doctors Without Borders, who noted past lulls in the outbreak have often been followed by surges in cases. He said the designation of Ebola as a global emergency is also necessary to speed up paperwork for the ongoing experimental drug and vaccine trials in West Africa.
In this file photo dated Wednesday, March 11, 2015, health workers walk inside a new graveyard for Ebola victims, on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia. Despite the drop in reported Ebola cases, Dr. Bruce Aylward, leading WHO's Ebola response, declared Friday April 10, 2015, that it's too early for World Health Organization to downgrade the global emergency status of the biggest-ever Ebola outbreak in Africa. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)
Other experts agreed it's too early for WHO to downgrade the status of the biggest-ever Ebola outbreak and warned the recent fall in cases may be deceptive.
"It is just that we are used to (seeing) large numbers of cases and deaths," said Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on WHO's Ebola emergency committee. "These numbers should still frighten us."
Tomori said that though cases have fallen dramatically, it is too soon to relax. "The three countries had declared themselves (Ebola-free) at one time, only to find dead bodies all over the place later," he wrote in an email.
Explore further: No new Ebola cases in Liberia for more than two weeks: WHO
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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by By Maria Cheng
In this file photo taken on Monday, March 2, 2015, a health care worker wearing virus protective gear before entering a high risk zone at an Ebola virus clinic operated by the International Medical Corps in Makeni, Sierra Leone. Despite the drop in reported Ebola cases, Dr. Bruce Aylward, leading WHO's Ebola response, declared Friday April 10, 2015, that it's too early for World Health Organization to downgrade the global emergency status of the biggest-ever Ebola outbreak in Africa. (AP Photo/ Michael Duff)
The World Health Organization says the year-long Ebola outbreak in West Africa still qualifies as an international emergency even though the number of cases has plummeted.
Last August, the U.N. health agency declared the epidemic of the lethal virus to be a global emergency after the deaths of nearly 1,000 people, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
At the peak last year, hundreds of new cases were being reported every week. In an update this week, WHO reported there were 30 confirmed cases last week in Guinea and Sierra Leone; the last case in Liberia died on March 27.
Dr. Bruce Aylward, who is leading WHO's Ebola response, said the decline appeared to be real, rather than just "a pothole on the bumpy road to get to zero cases."
To date, Ebola is estimated to have infected more than 25,500 people and killed 10,587, mostly in West Africa.
During a press briefing in Geneva on Friday, Aylward said WHO's Ebola emergency committee believes the risk of the virus spreading globally appears to be dropping even though officials still don't know where the virus is spreading in most cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone.
"We are still not controlling the epidemic," said Brice de le Vingne, director of operations for Doctors Without Borders, who noted past lulls in the outbreak have often been followed by surges in cases. He said the designation of Ebola as a global emergency is also necessary to speed up paperwork for the ongoing experimental drug and vaccine trials in West Africa.
In this file photo dated Wednesday, March 11, 2015, health workers walk inside a new graveyard for Ebola victims, on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia. Despite the drop in reported Ebola cases, Dr. Bruce Aylward, leading WHO's Ebola response, declared Friday April 10, 2015, that it's too early for World Health Organization to downgrade the global emergency status of the biggest-ever Ebola outbreak in Africa. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)
Other experts agreed it's too early for WHO to downgrade the status of the biggest-ever Ebola outbreak and warned the recent fall in cases may be deceptive.
"It is just that we are used to (seeing) large numbers of cases and deaths," said Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on WHO's Ebola emergency committee. "These numbers should still frighten us."
Tomori said that though cases have fallen dramatically, it is too soon to relax. "The three countries had declared themselves (Ebola-free) at one time, only to find dead bodies all over the place later," he wrote in an email.
Explore further: No new Ebola cases in Liberia for more than two weeks: WHO
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Related Stories
Mar 11, 2015No new case of the deadly Ebola virus has been registered in Liberia since February 19, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, also hailing positive signs in Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Nov 01, 2014The World Health Organization Friday revised its figures showing more people killed by the deadly Ebola virus, but the number of cases of the disease was slightly lower.
Mar 18, 2015Sierra Leone is planning another three-day, countrywide shutdown later this month to ferret out Ebola cases, remind people how to protect themselves from the disease and control its transmission.
Jan 29, 2015Health officials are now focused on ending the biggest-ever Ebola outbreak rather than just slowing the deadly virus' spread, the World Health Organization said Thursday.
Mar 12, 2015The World Health Organization marked a grim milestone Thursday in the biggest-ever Ebola outbreak, estimating that the virus had killed over 10,000 people, mostly in the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia ...
Recommended for you
3 hours agoDrug-resistant tuberculosis is a major health challenge across much of Africa, but a new medicine being pioneered in South Africa could be a breakthrough after decades of frustration.
5 hours agoDays after a foodborne illness was linked to Blue Bell ice cream products, a state inspection of an Oklahoma plant later tied to the infection praised the facility for having no violations and doing a "great job," according ...
6 hours agoA bird flu strain that's deadly to poultry has been confirmed in a second commercial turkey flock in eastern South Dakota and preliminary tests have confirmed the presence of some form of bird flu at a North Dakota farm, ...
15 hours agoAn American clinician has been cured of Ebola and was discharged from a hospital near the US capital, officials said Thursday.
16 hours agoA newly developed assay may help investigators identify novel drug candidates to protect kidney cells and prevent or treat chronic kidney disease (CKD). The advance is described in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the Am ...
19 hours agoA study in the scientific journal BMC Health Services Research shows that early and guideline adherent physical therapy following an initial episode of acute, nonspecific low back pain (LBP) resulted in substantially lower ...
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