The reports emerged more hours after the World Health Organization declared the West Africa outbreak over. Speaking at the declaration ceremony at the Ministry of Health in Monrovia, the WHO Country Representative Alex Gasasira commended the Government and people of Liberia, communities, health workers and partners for the successful response to the latest outbreak of Ebola.
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Sierra Leone was declared free of the virus on 7th November, but the region as a whole was declared clear when Liberia was pronounced Ebola-free on Thursday.
But two tests conducted on a person who died in northern Sierra Leone proved positive for the virus, an Ebola test centre spokesman told the BBC. It was not clear how many people the patient had been in contact with before the virus was detected.
While it has said that another major outbreak of the disease is unlikely, it reiterated its message of caution.
Emergency Risk Management and Humanitarian Response for WHO, Rick Brennan said it is the first time the three countries in West Africa, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have stopped all chains of transmission of the disease.
“WHO stresses ongoing risk of flare-ups due to the re-emergence of the virus throughout 2016 due to persistence of the virus in the survivor population”, a spokesman said.
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Yesterday’s announcement came 42 days – the equivalent of two incubation periods of the virus – after the last Ebola cases in Liberia were tested negative. The other affected countries, Guinea and Sierra Leone were declared Ebola-free late 2015.
