The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is still not over amid reports that the disease could stay longer in Guinea and Sierra Leone than expected. Health officials continue to report cases in the two countries, raising fear in the sub-region. Dr. Margaret Harris of the World Health Organization said, “It’s taking a little bit longer and it’s proving quite difficult in both Guinea and Sierra Leone. But honestly, this is something we’ve expected. We’ve been saying for a long time – we keep using this analogy – ‘the bumpy road.’ We noticed when Liberia had managed to drop most of its cases down it still took four months before they got to the end of their outbreak. And we’re seeing the same sort of thing… in both Sierra Leone and Guinea.”

According to the VOA, Dr. Harris said the outbreak in the two countries is a bit more complex and difficult than in Liberia. “It is something we really have to intensify our efforts to tackle,” she said. “People in communities that are affected by Ebola… and this is not all the people just some people… still do not accept that it really is the risk that we know it is. So, for instance, we’re still seeing traditional herbalists treating people with illness that turns out to be Ebola. We had one such case, which sparked another 20 others cases… .and we’re also still seeing unsafe burials,” she said. Harris does not have exact numbers, but she said, “There are certainly a large number of people who are quarantined in specific areas.”

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