Aid workers racing to defeat Ebola before the rains come

USA TODAY  by Samwar Fallah and Gregg Zoroya                                              March 28, 2015

MONROVIA, Liberia — Aid workers are rushing into neighboring Guinea to try to stanch a worrisome rise in cases of the deadly Ebola virus, which has been slowed in Sierra Leone and been all but eradicated here.

A man crouches next to the grave of an unknown man (L) at the National Memorial Cemetry on Disco Hill, Margibi County, Liberia, 11 March 2015. The cemetery was established to provide a dignified burial for ebola victims and bring an end to the usual cremation of victims during the outbreak. Liberia on 11 March observed a National Memorial Day to remember, honour, and decorate the graves of the dead. The government of Liberia on 05 March discharged the last ebola patient, thus raising the hopes of the end of the epidemic. EPA/AHMED JALLANZO ORG XMIT: MON107(Photo: AHMED JALLANZO, EPA)

The mission is urgent because the coming rainy season could hamper travel to remote villages where the disease continues to emerge.

"I'm nervous but optimistic at heart that Guinea will follow the same trajectory" as Liberia and Sierra Leone where the disease has declined, said Jordan Tappero, director of the division of global health protection for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"We've tripled the number of people we have in the field (in Guinea) and many other organizations are doing the same," he said. "We've got to keep pressing on and stay with it."

Read full story.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/03/28/ebola-liberia-guinea-sierra-leone-infection-cdc/70370756/