Reports from health authorities in Liberia have confirmed that a new case of Ebola has been identified in the country, which had previously been declared Ebola-free.
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“Yes, yes, you can say confirmed”, he said when asked if the case had been confirmed to be Ebola. Liberia alone has reported over 10,600 cases and almost 5,000 deaths during the outbreak, which has lasted for more than a year, reports The Guardian.
Ebola has killed more than 11,300 people in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea since the epidemic was announced in March 2014 and about 28,500 were infected, according to World Health Organization data. He fell ill on November 14, was hospitalized a few days later and confirmed as having Ebola Thursday. Sierra Leone, meanwhile, was said to have beaten the virus this month. That means that all those who’ve survived need to be helped to maintain hygiene, and also if they’re men, to practice safe sex.
“The child has no known history of contact with a survivor”, he said.
The boy’s family is being tested for the virus, he said. It was the first of three countries impacted most severely by the virus to be declared free of the virus in May and again in September.
Aylward adds that this new case shows that Liberia is now well-prepared to identify, isolate and treat cases if and when they do appear.
– WHO needs a single program to deal with health emergencies which must include “a global health emergency work force” and contingency funds to get people into the field quickly.
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“Without the individual and collective support and cooperation of all our citizens and residents, it would have been hard to defeat this scourge”, Sirleaf said.
