| 1 | Sierra Leone has only four recorded cases of Ebola, the West African nation's head of Ebola said Thursday, adding that he is hopeful the countdown to zero can soon begin. |
| 2 | Two of the cases have proven negative after treatments, and the other two, in the north Tonkolili district, are in treatment, said National Emergency Response Center chief Alfred Palo Conteh. |
| 3 | "The end of this virus is in sight," he said. |
| 4 | The Tonkolili district remains a worry, he said. |
| 5 | Authorities last week quarantined 500 people after a man died from Ebola. |
| 6 | The district had not had a single case of Ebola in five months. |
| 7 | The victim contracted the disease in the capital, traveled to his home village, and was treated for a fever at the local hospital but authorities didn't call the Ebola emergency number. |
| 8 | He didn't have a burial that followed special procedures required for Ebola victims, and the man's mother and brother contracted the virus. |
| 9 | "This could happen again in any of the silent districts and we must all do what it takes to prevent a recurrence elsewhere," Palo Conteh said. |
| 10 | The World Health Organization on Wednesday said nearly 2,000 contacts are being monitored across Guinea and Sierra Leone. |
| 11 | It also warned that the rainy season in the three countries hit hardest by the Ebola outbreak - Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia - will prove a challenge for slowing the spread of the deadly virus. |
| 12 | This Ebola outbreak has killed more than 11,200 people, mostly in West Africa. |