The celebration over the eradication of the Ebola virus in West Africa has been cut short.
Sierra Leone officials have confirmed a death from Ebola less than a day after the World Health Organization declared the region Ebola free. The WHO had warned about possibility of flare ups since the virus could potentially still be in the semen of male survivors for up to one year.
The country was declared free of the virus on November 7 and the new case will surely heighten fears of another outbreak.
The BBC confirmed from an Ebola test spokesman that the tests on a person who died in northern Sierra Leone proved positive.
The Sierra Leone death occurred earlier this week.
The patient had died in the Tonkolili district after travelling there from Kambia, close to the border with Guinea. Health officials are now seeking those who came in contact with the victim
Sierra Leone was hit hard by the epidemic with close to 4,000 people dying from Ebola in Sierra Leone, and 11,000 people across the region, since December 2013.
A country is considered free of human-to-human transmission once two 21-day incubation periods have passed since the last known case tested negative for a second time.
No comments:
Post a Comment