6 Challenges to Stamping Out Ebola

Despite a recent sharp drop in the overall number of Ebola cases, the situation remains precarious in West Africa

NATURE MAGAZINE  by Declan Butler                                                                    Feb. 24, 2015
More than a year since the start of one of the worst public health crises in recent history, Ebola cases have been tumbling in West Africa. But the epidemic is far from over: the risk of flare ups and further geographical spread will remain until there are no new cases.

The ease in case numbers means that public-health countermeasures and resources can be shifted in many places, from curbing runaway outbreaks to aggressively targeting the remaining, often smaller outbreaks....

At the same time, there is a danger of complacency. Reducing the number of cases to zero demands identifying and breaking all new chains of transmission, a task that still faces major obstacles—not least the fast approaching rainy season.

Highlighting the precariousness of the current situation, on February 20, the officials leading the United Nations' Ebola response efforts warned that the gains of the past few months risked unravelling.

Nature outlines six of the biggest challenges to stamping out Ebola.

                                                                                              Credit: Justin Williams/MMWR/CDC

Read complete story.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/6-challenges-to-stamping-out-ebola/