A corpse has tested positive for Ebola in Sierra Leone, an official said Friday – just one day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak over in West Africa.
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The woman was ill in the northern village of BamoiLuma near the Guinean border and soon died following an initial test indicating Ebola virus, according to health ministry officials in the country. “Our level of preparedness remains high as we did not stand down or dismantle any of the structures that we had used to fight the virus before”.
Public health officials in the region thought they had reason to breathe a sigh of relief, after the WHO pronounced Liberia to be free of Ebola cases.
Sierra Leone was put on a 90-day surveillance period that started November 7.
The WHO confirmed the new case, saying that its discovery reflects “the ongoing risk of new flare-ups of the virus in affected countries”.
Since March 2014, the Ebola epidemic has claimed the lives of more than 11,300 people and infected over 28,500.
Ebola is passed on through blood and bodily fluids, and kills about 40 percent of those who contract the virus.
I think more vigilance is needed.
This new report of an Ebola death has cut short the rejoicing over the earlier reported freedom from the plague that ravaged the West African region for two years.
A new case of the Ebola virus was reported just hours after the World Health Organization declared that all of West Africa was now free of the virus. It had been at least two weeks since Ebola had been seen in Guinea or Sierra Leone.
Tarawally also said that active case investigations are underway in three separate locations where the victim is reported to have traveled, including Kambia, Port Loko, Bombali and Freetown.
Although we have not heard about the Ebola epidemic for a while, the possible spread of the disease had terrorized the global population for a long time. The WHO said Thursday that Ebola can “in rare instances be transmitted to intimate partners”. Sierra Leone’s chief medical officer, Dr. Brima Kargbo, said that the government would “revisit” the Ebola case definition. We are known and trusted by local people, meaning we are well-placed to respond when need is great.
Jalloh first had symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea on Thursday of last week. Almost 4,000 of those deaths were in Sierra Leone.
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“We have had ten of these flare-ups and we are anticipating more”, said Rick Brennan, Director of WHO’s Department of Emergency Risk Management and Humanitarian Response. He said that there have been 10 cases due to the persistence of the virus in survivors.
