Highlights

• The WHO reports a total of 20,129 cases (suspected, probable, and confirmed) and 7,879 deaths in the four currently affected countries in West Africa (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Mali).

• The three most affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) are reporting new cases distributed very unevenly across districts. Transmission remains most intense in Sierra Leone, with 315 new confirmed cases. In Liberia, the number of new cases is decreasing nationwide. In Guinea, the number of new cases is higher this week (N=156) following a sharp increase in the Kissidougou district, which accounts for one-third of the cases. Transmission is active in the capitals (Conakry, Freetown, and Monrovia).

• In the three most affected countries, the WHO estimates the case fatality rate at 70% among Ebola cases for which the final clinical outcome is known.

• In Mali, where local transmission has been reported for five weeks in the capital Bamako, the toll stands at 8 cases and 6 deaths. No new cases have been reported since November 25.

• In the United Kingdom, the first case was confirmed on December 29 in a healthcare worker returning from Sierra Leone.