Health officials in West Africa say 25 more people have died
from Ebola since July 3, taking the total number of deaths to 518.
The World Health Organization said 50 new cases of the
deadly disease had also been reported.
A WHO spokesman said health workers were struggling to
contain the outbreak in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
On Monday, a doctor in Ghana said preliminary tests on a US
citizen showed he did not have the disease.
But further tests are now being carried out.
The man had recently visited Sierra Leone and Guinea and was
quarantined after showing signs of the virus.
Guinea’s ministry reported two deaths since July 3 but no
new cases in the past week, the WHO said, calling the situation in the affected
region of West Africa a “mixed picture”.
It said Sierra Leone had accounted for 34 of the new cases
and 14 deaths, while Liberia reported 16 new cases and nine deaths.
“These numbers indicate that active viral transmission
continues in the community,” the statement said.
WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said the two main modes of
transmission were people caring for sick relatives at home and people attending
funerals of victims.
“If we don’t stop the transmission in the several hotspots
in the three countries we will not be able to say that we control the
outbreak,” she said.
The BBC’s Tulip Mazumdar says experts believe the key to
stopping the spread of the virus is making sure affected communities understand
it better.
Last week, health ministers from 11 West African countries
adopted a common strategy to fight the outbreak.
At an emergency meeting in Ghana last Thursday, ministers
promised better collaboration to fight what has become the world’s deadliest
outbreak to date.
Under the new strategy, the WHO will open a sub-regional
control centre in Guinea to co-ordinate technical support.
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