Highlights

• As of February 20, the WHO reports a total of 23,371 cases (suspected, probable, and confirmed) and 9,442 deaths in the three currently affected countries in West Africa (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone).

• The number of new cases is generally stable in Liberia (N=2), Guinea (N=52), and Sierra Leone (N=74) compared to previous weeks. In these three countries, however, the number of new cases per week remains well below that observed in the second half of 2014.

• In Guinea, pockets of resistance are observed, particularly in Lower Guinea, where hidden cases persist, unidentified by surveillance systems. There is a real challenge in mobilizing communities to identify contacts and transmission chains.

• Security-related incidents have been reported in certain districts of Guinea and Sierra Leone over the past week.

• In Sierra Leone, a cluster of cases reported in a fishing community in the Freetown region, with numerous potential contacts, is likely to lead to an increase in the number of new cases.

• In Liberia, all schools nationwide and the borders reopened last week (after six months of closure).

• Transmission remains active in the capitals of Conakry and Freetown.