New cases of Ebola in both Sierra Leone and Guinea squander hopes that the virus is no longer prevalent.
Here are five notes:
1. While the number of new cases in May in Sierra Leone and Guinea were very close to zero, the numbers of Ebola cases have rapidly increased this month.
2. Brima Kargbo, Sierra Leone's chief medical officer, partially blamed the inability to convince some people to not seek treatment from local healers. By traveling to healers, people with Ebola are leaving quarantined homes and exposing the virus to more individuals.
3. Since the Ebola outbreak began 18 months ago, 27,275 people have contracted the virus with 11,163 fatal cases in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
4. Officials state it is difficult to contain the virus because finding the infected individuals before they infect others is a tremendous challenge. Many people in Guinea are unaware who is sick or how they contracted the virus.
5. While Liberian officials eradicated Ebola by forcing cremation of infected bodies, the cultural norms in Guinea differ and therefore forced cremation may not be a viable option to combat Ebola. Healthcare professionals must be aware of varying cultural norms in order to establish trust with Guinea residents to work together to fight the virus.
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