The horrible Ebola pandemic that killed more than 11,300 people over the past 22 months, mostly in three West African nations, is not over. But it is down to a few cases in a small cluster of villages in Guinea — one of the three hard-hit countries — and, The New York Times reports, it is proving really hard to get the case number down to zero.
One woman believed to be infected has vanished, and her friends and neighbors aren't giving health officials (or Guinea's prime minister) any hints. There are also about 150 other people also known to have had close contact with the victims, plus another 200 who had some form of brief contact. And in some cases, health officials don't know how the disease is being spread. "We are all holding our breath, frankly," Christopher Dye, director of strategy at the World Health Organization, tells The Times. Public health workers are trying mightily, if unevenly, to stamp Ebola out, moving into the villages in large white tents.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of ChristmasCartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
-
Inside the house of AssadThe Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
-
Sudoku medium: December 22, 2024The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
