New Ebola cases in single digits another week, says WHO

1	DAKAR, Senegal (AP) - New Ebola cases were in the single digits another week, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, showing that contact tracing efforts are yielding results.
2	The path to zero cases, however, remains a challenge as the West African nations that have seen most of the more than 11,200 deaths from Ebola - Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia - head into rainy season.
3	"Zero is an achievable goal in the near term, there's no question, but there are a lot of hazards between here and there, a lot of rain, still a lot of missing contacts," Dr. Bruce Aylward, WHO's Ebola head, said from Geneva on Tuesday.
4	WHO reported two confirmed cases of Ebola -one in Guinea and one in Sierra Leone- in the week ending Aug. 2.
5	It credited strengthened contact tracing and investigations for what it said was the lowest weekly total since March 2014.
6	This week, Sierra Leone has reported two new cases, both relatives of a man who died from Ebola in Tonkolili, an area that hadn't seen the deadly virus in months.
7	Nearly 2,000 contacts are being monitored across five prefectures in Guinea and four districts in Sierra Leone, including 500 in the Tonkolili district, said WHO.
8	More cases are likely in the coming weeks in Guinea and Sierra Leone.
9	"There's two or three areas still at particularly high risk of having a flare (of cases)," Dr. Aylward said.
10	WHO also said in its report that while a vaccine tested in Guinea may prove effective, "more conclusive evidence is needed."
11	Last week, WHO's chief Dr. Margaret Chan described the shot as a potential "game-changer."