Ebola outbreak: cases rise for 1st time this year, WHO says

The number of new weekly Ebola cases rose for first time in 2015 in all three of the hard-hit countries of West Africa, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

Sierra Leone accounted for 80 of the 124 new cases of the disease confirmed in the week to Feb. 1, it said. Guinea recorded 39 cases while Liberia had just five.

"Weekly case incidence increased in all three countries for the first time this year," the WHO said in its latest update.

Community resistance to aid workers, increasing geographical spread in Guinea and widespread transmission in Sierra Leone remain "significant challenges" to ending the epidemic, it said.