Ebola Virus – Epidemiological Update for West Africa as of December 8, 2014The WHO reports a total of 17,808 cases (suspected, probable, and confirmed) and 6,337 deaths in the four affected countries in West Africa (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Mali).The three most affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) are reporting new cases distributed very unevenly across districts. In these countries, transmission is most intense in Sierra Leone, which has become the country reporting the most cases (N=7,798), surpassing Liberia (N=7,719), where the situation has been stable since the decline observed between mid-September and mid-October. In Guinea, the number of new cases is generally stable, with significant variation between districts.In the three most affected countries, the WHO estimates the case fatality rate at 72% among Ebola cases for which the final clinical outcome is known. In Mali, where local transmission has been reported for three weeks in the capital, Bamako, the toll stands at 8 cases and 6 deaths. No new cases have been reported in this country since November 25.