HIGHLIGHTS
EVD vaccination trials will begin in the three acutely affected countries in West Africa during the coming weeks.
Weekly EVD case incidence increased in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone for the first time in 2015; during the week of January 26, WHO reported 124 new confirmed cases—39 cases in Guinea, five cases in Liberia, and 80 cases in Sierra Leone.
Grand Cape Mount County in Liberia has not reported a new confirmed EVD case in 21 days; Montserrado is the only Liberian county to report new confirmed EVD cases in the previous three weeks.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
During a January 29 EVD stakeholder meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Special Representative to the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed noted that the outbreak remains perilous, with active EVD cases in more than 25 of the 66 administrative regions—counties, districts, and prefectures—comprising the three acutely affected countries.
On January 30, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pledged UN support to assist the West African countries affected by the EVD outbreak to build back stronger during the African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government summit in Addis Ababa. Representatives from the AU and UN urged responding countries and organizations to continue providing support and staff until the number of regional cases reaches zero.
UNMEER, with support from CDC personnel, recently facilitated a rapid assessment of three Liberian towns along the Guinea–Liberia border. Although the border has remained closed since July 2014, border officials report that illegal crossings continue due to extensive cultural, economic, and family linkages in the area, according to the UN.