The total number of suspected and confirmed cases in the on-going Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) outbreak in Guinea has increased to 112, including 70 deaths, making the current case fatality rate 62.5%.
The numbers are current as of March 28, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) update released March 30. The numbers include nearly a dozen more new cases which have been reported in Guinea in the past week, with the date of hospital admission of the most recent suspected case being 28 March.
Two of the new suspected cases have been in health-care workers, indicating the need to further strengthen health facility-based infection prevention and control.
To date 24 clinical samples from Guinea have tested positive by PCR for the Ebola virus in samples from cases in Conakry (11), Guékédou (6) and Macenta (7). In addition, Liberia has reported 2 laboratory confirmed cases in persons who had traveled to Guinea.
Ebola has been confirmed in neighboring Liberia; and Sierra Leone has identified 2 suspected cases, both of whom died. All of the confirmed and suspected cases reported by Liberia and Sierra Leone had traveled to Guinea before illness onset, according to the WHO.
WHO and response partners are continuing to support the outbreak response through mobilizing clinical care, infection prevention and control, surveillance and epidemiology, laboratory diagnosis and reference, logistics and social mobilization. WHO is also supporting countries with supplies such as personal protective equipment.
