Disease

Ebola - West Africa

The number of new Ebola cases rose for the second week in a row in West Africa, nearly doubling in Guinea, suggesting declines in the disease seen earlier this year had stalled, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

Efforts to wipe out the deadly virus were being hampered by people's mistrust of health workers, and the number of people continuing to hide sick friends and relatives from authorities, particularly in Guinea's capital Conakry, officials said.

West Africa recorded 144 new confirmed cases of Ebola in the week to Feb. 8 compared with 124 the previous week, the WHO said in a report.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)

Between 27 January and 4 February 2015, the IHR National Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (SAU) notified WHO of 10 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including 1 death.

On 2 February 2015, the IHR National Focal Point of Qatar notified WHO of 1 additional case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection.

On 3 February 2015, the IHR National Focal Point of the United Arab Emirates notified WHO of 1 additional fatal case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection.