• International concern mounts for Sierra Leone and Liberia, as the rate of new cases appears to be rising.
There are not enough isolation/treatment centres and the elements necessary to break the chain of transmission are simply not credibly in place. Furthermore, the numbers of registered cases and deaths in all three majorly affected countries seem to underestimate the real magnitude of the outbreak, according to the WHO.
• In Sierra Leone, as a response, the Government has announced that two new treatment centres are to be established in the country, while 201 patients have survived EVD and have been subsequently discharged from the health units.
• Despite WHO not recommending any travel or transaction restrictions, except in cases where individuals are infected by the EVD (confirmed or suspected) and their contacts, as of 14 August several countries, including eighteen European ones, have issued a travel advice to their citizens.
• The EU has announced an additional EUR 8 million to support the response across the region and will deploy another mobile laboratory. ECHO funds have also been directed towards assistance for the neighbouring countries, to prepare themselves in case they have to deal with EVD infections.