New cases of Ebola emerge after reports of decline in deadly virus

Last week 31 new cases of Ebola were reported

Workers at the Donka Ebola treatment center in Conakry in Guinea (CELLOU BINANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Dozens of new Ebola cases in West Africa have emerged in recent weeks, following a decline in the number of people contracting the virus in April and May.

In a Situation Report published on 10 June, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported there had been more than 30 new cases of the virus last week.

There were 14 new cases this week, according to CNN.

“In recent weeks, the decline in case incidence and the contraction of the geographic area affected by Ebola virus disease (EVD) transmission that was apparent throughout April and early May has stalled,” said the WHO.

“This is the second consecutive weekly increase in case incidence, and the highest weekly total number of cases reported from Sierra Leone since late March,” said WHO.

Of the 31 reported last week, 16 were in Guinea and 15 in Sierra Leone. The WHO said that the cases were emerging from a "widening geographical area" in both countries.

It added that the "continued occurrence of cases that arise from unknown sources of infection highlights the challenges still faced in finding and eliminating every chain of transmission".

Data released yesterday by the organisation showed that the total number of confirmed, probable and suspected cases of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone totalled 27,251.

The total number of deaths in these countries was 11,163.

Last month, Liberia was declared to be free of Ebola after the virus took the lives of 4,700 people.

The New York times reported that an Ebola treatment called MIL77 - a close copy of what is thought to be the most promising Ebola therapy ZMapp – was praised by a doctor in Rome. A nurse who contracted the virus in Sierra Leone was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday.

The paper said that ZMapp was being clinically trialled in the US and Sierra Leone.