News outlets report on the spread of an Ebola outbreak that continues to claim lives in West Africa.

Agence France-Presse: West Africa Ebola outbreak among ‘most challenging’ ever: WHO
“West Africa’s Ebola unprecedented outbreak is among the ‘most challenging’ for health workers since the deadly disease emerged elsewhere in Africa four decades ago as the suspected death toll topped 100, the WHO said Tuesday…” (Fowler, 4/8).

Associated Press: Ebola-linked deaths in West Africa rise over 100
“Officials say more than 100 people have died in an outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, where the disease may have infected as many as 175 people. The outbreak of Ebola, which causes internal and external bleeding and is almost always fatal, began last month…” (4/8).

Associated Press: Officials say Ebola outbreak could last months
“Ebola could continue to spread in West Africa for months in one of the most challenging outbreaks of the disease the international community has ever faced, health experts said Tuesday…” (Diallo/DiLorenzo, 4/8).

Reuters: Guinea’s first Ebola survivors return to family, stigma remains
“…Eight people have now recovered from the Ebola virus, according to medical tests. The virulent Zaire strain of the disease in Guinea has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent. … The [Médecins Sans Frontières] team has been helping to educate people on how the disease spreads and how it can be prevented. The team is starting to reintegrate patients who have survived the virus…” (Hussain, 4/8).

Reuters: WHO says West African Ebola outbreak to last 2-4 months
“A ‘challenging’ outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa is expected to take from two to four months to contain, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday…” (Nebehay, 4/8).

Scientific American: Could RNA Drugs Defeat Ebola Virus?
“…Some [Ebola] outbreaks, primarily in Central and West Africa, have killed up to 90 percent of infected individuals. That terrifying prognosis may be about to change. Using so-called small interfering RNA, or siRNA, Thomas W. Geisbert, now at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and his many collaborators have devised a highly promising treatment that has saved the lives of six monkeys infected with the virus. As reported this past January, the treatment has also passed its first safety test in an uninfected human volunteer…” (Jabr, 4/8).