The World Health Organization has reported an alarming rise in the number of new Ebola cases for the second week in a row in West Africa. It said the declines in Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) seen earlier this year have stalled.

It also said the number of new cases has nearly doubled in Guinea, which is where the current Ebola epidemic began. In Guinea, there were 64 new cases compared to 39 the previous week.

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The UN agency noted that efforts to wipe out EVD were being hindered by people's mistrust of health workers. It also said a number of people continue to hide sick friends and relatives from health authorities.

This practice is prevalent in Conakry, Guinea's capital, and could partly explain the alarming spike in new Ebola cases in that country.

"The main threat to achieving our goal of zero cases in 60 days is this resistance in Conakry," said Dr. Sakoba Keita, national coordinator for the fight against the epidemic in Guinea.

Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia remain the epicenters of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. As of Feb. 8, there have been 22,904 cases of EVD in nine countries. There have been 9,177 deaths.

All but 36 of Ebola cases and 15 deaths have occurred outside Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia

WHO said West Africa saw 144 new confirmed cases of Ebola in the week to Feb. 8 compared to 124 the previous week.

"Despite improvements in case finding and management, burial practices, and community engagement, the decline in case incidence has stalled," said WHO.

Sierra Leone remains the country with the highest Ebola transmission. Case numbers in this country, however, fell week-on-week to 76 from 80. Liberia, once the center of the epidemic, reported only three cases in the same period.