•As of 31 March, the number of confirmed and unconfirmed cases in Guinea reached 122 in total, including 80 deaths. In Liberia, there have been four deaths in a total of eight cases and in Sierra Leone two, both of whom died.
•Out of these total numbers, 24 in Guinea and three in Liberia have been confirmed as Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever (now known as Ebola Virus Disease - EVD) cases and they have all tested positive to the same species, namely Zaire ebolavirus.
Guinea
•The situation in the forested area of south-eastern Guinea seems to be stabilizing, notably due to active case finding, active contact tracing, effective case management in isolation wards and public awareness measures.
•In Conakry, there have been 11 confirmed cases so far. All cases concerned people coming from south-eastern Guinea. Health staff in the hospital are among these cases. They were contaminated before measures for disease spread prevention were taken. The Guinean Ministry of Health, together with Médecins Sans Frontières, is currently identifying a location for the establishment of a single Isolation and Treatment Centre for all Conakry. While additional assistance, such as protective equipment and additional specialist teams, continue to reach Conakry, logistics and coordination remain challenging.
Liberia / Sierra Leone
•In Liberia, confirmed or suspected cases have been identified in Lofa, Nimba and Margibi counties, while in Sierra Leone cases under investigation are from Kailahun district. All of the initial reported cases in these two countries had travelled to Guinea before the onset of the Ebola outbreak.
ECHO response
•ECHO is supporting the humanitarian response to the Ebola outbreak with EUR 500 000 for case identification and management. Two ECHO experts are present in Conakry and an additional expert is arriving in Monrovia. Further support is presently being considered.