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Sierra Leone Has Overtaken Liberia in Ebola

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Sierra Leone has the highest number of Ebola cases of any country, according to the most recent World Health Organization statistics.

Sierra Leone has seen 7,780 cases of Ebola, more than the 7,719 cases in Liberia, WHO figures published on Monday show. Some 17,800 people have fallen ill with virus in those two countries and in Guinea, 6,187 of whom have died.

In the WHO’s latest situation report, published last week, the group said its goal of safely burying 70 % of Ebola victims and isolating 70 % of Ebola patients had been met in “most districts” of the three hardest-hit West African countries. The WHO cited Liberia as a bright point in the global effort to contain the disease, reporting that case incidence was “stable or declining” in the struggling nation, where 3,177 people have died from the disease.

Yet the WHO said that transmission of the virus was still “intense” in Sierra Leone, which at the beginning of the month reported more than 500 new cases over a period of just days.

PHOTOS: See How a Photographer is Covering Ebola’s Deadly Spread

Members of a Liberian Red Cross burial team, under contract from the Liberian Ministry of Health, remove the body of suspected Ebola victim Lorpu David, 30, on Sept. 18, 2014, in the Gurley street community in central Monrovia, Liberia.
Members of a Liberian Red Cross burial team, under contract from the Liberian Ministry of Health, remove the body of suspected Ebola victim Lorpu David, 30, on Sept. 18, 2014, in the Gurley street community in central Monrovia, Liberia.Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Redux
EBOLA OUTBREAK IN LIBERIA
Members of a Liberian Red Cross burial team, remove the body of woman, 75, a suspected Ebola victim on Sept. 18, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Redux
A burial team collects the body of a 75-year-old woman in a neighborhood called PHP in Monrovia, Liberia.
A burial team collects the body of a 75-year-old woman in a neighborhood called PHP in Monrovia, Liberia, Sept. 18, 2014. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Redux
A resident of the West Point neighborhood covers his nose as a burial team departed with a body in Monrovia, Liberia.
A resident of the West Point neighborhood covers his nose as a burial team leaves with a body in Monrovia, Liberia, Sept. 17, 2014. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Redux
Members of a burial team from the Liberian Red Cross remove the body of a man, a suspected Ebola victim, from a home in Matadi on Sept. 17, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.
Members of a burial team from the Liberian Red Cross remove the body of a man, a suspected Ebola victim, from a home in Matadi on Sept. 17, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Redux
EBOLA OUTBREAK IN LIBERIA
A member of a Liberian Red Cross burial team is disinfected, with chlorine sprayed on by a colleague, after having removed the body of a man, a suspected Ebola victim, on Sept. 6, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Reportage by Getty Images
Residents look on as the body of a man suspected of dying from Ebola lies in a busy street, after it was reportedly dragged there to draw attention to burial teams following days of failed attempts by his family to have his body picked up, in Monrovia, Li
Residents look on as the body of a man suspected of dying from Ebola lies in a busy street after it was reportedly dragged there to draw the attention of burial teams. For several days, his family had asked for the body to be picked up, to no avail. Monrovia, Liberia, Sept. 15, 2014. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Redux
Friends and relatives weep as a burial team removes the body of a 75-year-old woman who neighbors insisted died of a stroke, in a neighborhood called PHP in Monrovia, Liberia.
Friends and relatives weep as a burial team removes the body of a 75-year-old woman. Her neighbors insisted she had died of a stroke. Monrovia, Liberia, Sept. 18, 2014.Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Redux
Eric Gweah, 25, grieves as he watches members of a Red Cross burial team carry the body his father, Ofori Gweah, 62, a suspected Ebola victim, in a riverside area called Rock Spring Valley in central Monrovia, Liberia.
Eric Gweah, 25, grieves as he watches members of a Red Cross burial team carry the body his father, Ofori Gweah, 62, a suspected Ebola victim, in a riverside area called Rock Spring Valley in central Monrovia, Liberia, Sept. 18, 2014. Ofori Gweah had endured Ebolaís telltale symptoms for six days, his family took him to treatment centers twice, only to be turned back. So many Ebola victims are dying at home due to a severe shortage of treatment centers in Monrovia, and many of the ill are infecting family members, neighbors and others in a ballooning circle of contagion. (Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times)Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Redux
Residents discuss an Ebola awareness campaign in Monrovia, Liberia.
Residents discuss an Ebola awareness campaign in Monrovia, Liberia, Aug. 30, 2014. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Redux
Residents of the West Point neighborhood attend church after a 10-day quarantine was lifted in Monrovia, Liberia.
Residents of the West Point neighborhood attend church after a 10-day quarantine was lifted in Monrovia, Liberia, Aug. 31, 2014. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Redux
EBOLA OUTBREAK IN LIBERIA
James Dorbor, 8, suspected to have Ebola, lays on the ground as his father Edward tried to get the boy to drink coconut water. They waited for James to be admitted into the JFK Ebola treatment center on Sept. 5, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Reportage by Getty Images
EBOLA OUTBREAK IN LIBERIA
Edward Dorbor reacts after believing that his son, James Dorbor, 8, had died. However, the boy survived for a few additional hours before dying at the JFK Ebola treatment center on Sept. 5, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Reportage by Getty Images
Medical staff carry James Dorbor, 8, suspected of having Ebola, into a treatment facility in Monrovia, Liberia.
Medical staff rush into the treatment facility, carrying James Dorbor, 8, suspected of having Ebola. Since the health workers weren't wearing the appropriate protection against Ebola, they positioned James' body in a way to limit exposure to the deadly virus. Monrovia, Liberia, Sept. 5, 2014. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Redux
EBOLA OUTBREAK IN LIBERIA
A relative grieves as members of a Liberian Red Cross burial team dress themselves in full protective clothing prior to removing the body of suspected Ebola victim, Ofori Gweah, 62, on Sept. 18, 2014 in central Monrovia, Liberia.Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Redux
EBOLA OUTBREAK IN LIBERIA
Medical staff spray down a small plastic bag containing the blood sample of Hawa Konneh, 9, a suspected Ebola victim, as she lays on the dirt wrapped in a shawl in front of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Ebola treatment center, as her mother, Masogbe, sits near to her prior to Hawa's passing away on Sept. 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Reportage by Getty Images
EBOLA OUTBREAK IN LIBERIA
Marvin Gweah, 28, is overcome by emotion as members of a Liberian Red Cross burial team carry away the body of his father, Ofori Gweah, 62, a suspected Ebola victim, on Sept. 18, 2014 in central Monrovia, Liberia. Daniel Berehulak—The New York Times/Reportage by Getty Images

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Write to Elizabeth Barber at elizabeth.barber@timeasia.com