GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 29 (UPI) —
A decline in Ebola virus cases in Liberia, the country hardest hit by the outbreak, has been noted by the World Health Organization.
Dr. Bruce Aylward, leader of the WHO mission in West Africa, said Wednesday at a Geneva, Switzerland, press conference that the crisis was not over, but that a downward trend in reported cases "is real in Liberia and there may indeed be a slowing of the epidemic’s spread there."
"Do we feel confident that the response is now getting an upper hand on the virus? Yes, we are seeing slowing rate of new cases, very definitely."
The Liberian Red Cross reported fewer bodies were being collected in the capital city of Monrovia, compared to previous weeks, and that more beds in treatment centers are now available.
Aylward credited "a huge effort to inform the population about the disease, to change the behaviors that put them at risk," noting there has been "a real step up in the work to put in place safe burials".
He added the number of deaths in West Africa from the Ebola virus will likely cross the 5,000 threshold. The number will be announced later Wednesday.
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