Officials in Guinea believe that the Ebola outbreak might finally be nearly under control as deaths and new cases of the virus have slowed.
Health Ministry spokesman Rafi Diallo said, "the number of new cases have fallen rapidly." According to Reuters, he added, "Once we no longer have any new cases ... we can say that it is totally under control."
Many new cases are not actually of sick people, but the monitoring of people who came into contact with those confirmed to have had Ebola. In Guinea, 106 people have been confirmed dead from Ebola out of 159 confirmed cases. The death toll currently sits at 130 as the virus spread to neighboring West Africa countries, with Liberia suffering the second-most deaths.
The World Health Organization commented earlier in April that the outbreak, which flared up in February, would likely take two to four months to get under control. Currently experts from the U.S. have a testing lab set up in Liberia to help with any new cases. Flights originating or stopping in Guinea, Sierra Leone or Liberia have been banned Gambia.
Last week, WHO doctors said the Ebola outbreak was "one of the most challenging Ebola outbreaks we have ever faced." The struggles have come from how the virus spread into neighboring countries, making it harder to contain.
The countries affected by Ebola have also not had to deal with an outbreak like other African nations, who are used to dealing with Ebola and thus better prepared.