WHO: Newest ebola cases lead to 25 deaths in West Africa

Fifty new cases of Ebola and 25 deaths have been reported in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea since July 3, as the deadly virus continues to spread within families, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.

In a statement, the United Nations agency said that the latest figures from health ministries in the three countries showed a total of 844 cases including 518 deaths in the epidemic that began in February.

The WHO says 34 new cases were reported by Sierra Leone, including 14 deaths, and 16 cases by Liberia, including nine deaths, since July 3.

WHO officials said in a statement Tuesday that the outbreak in those two countries and Guinea shows "a mixed picture" because of a reduction in the number of new cases in Guinea, where no new cases have been reported during the past week. Nevertheless, Guinea remains the hardest-hit country, with 408 cases and 307 deaths.

The new cases and deaths in Liberia bring the overall count in the country to 131 cases, with 84 fatalities. In Sierra Leone, figures show that there are now a total of 305 cases and 127 deaths. 

The WHO and 11 West African health ministers last week held crisis talks to try to combat the deadliest outbreak of the virus in history.

Ebola is a form of hemorrhagic fever, which is deadly in as high as 90 percent of cases. It can fell victims within days, causing severe fever and muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhea — and in some cases, organ failure and unstoppable bleeding.

The virus spreads among humans via bodily fluids including sweat, meaning one can get sick from simply touching an infected person. With no vaccine, patients believed to have caught the virus have to be isolated to prevent further contagion.

This outbreak is the first in West Africa, and the largest since Ebola first emerged in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib, speaking to a Geneva news briefing on Tuesday, said, "The two main modes of transmission are home care, people who care for their relative at home, and during funerals, are still ongoing.”

"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. 

Wire services