New cases of Ebola have been detected in Liberia, almost two months after the West African country was declared free of the virus.
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Two persons sharing the teenager’s house have been confirmed as positive with the virus, according to a post on Twitter by the Liberian information ministry. Tracing these contacts, and quarantining accordingly, is probably the most significant factor in preventing the spread of the disease.
The case is a 17-year-old male who first became ill on 21 June, the update said.
Nyenswah said health officials were monitoring 175 people believed to have come into contact with the three cases, though none had yet exhibited symptoms of the disease, which had been localized in the village of Nedowein.
Abbas Dulleh /AP Health workers carry a body of a person that they suspected died form the Ebola virus at a new graveyard on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia, in March.
Liberia had been declared officially Ebola-free on May 9 after it had gone 42 days with no new cases.
He did not provide details of the new cases.
While “post-Ebola” planning has focused on long-term aspirations, the very gaps in basic infection control that facilitated the epidemic’s growth in the first place have still not been addressed.
“We will remain engaged with governments in the region to ensure Ebola doesn’t take hold again in the way it did last summer”, said Thomas-Greenfield on Tuesday. Over 8,000 people have died from Ebola spread through Liberia in 2014, according to ABC News.
The death of the 17 year old has brought shock to a nation that up until yesterday, had shown great leadership to her two neighbouring countries – Sierra Leone and Guinea, as to how to tackle this deadly crisis. Health officials told the news agency AFP that the infected pair had come into physical contact with Memaigar before his death on Sunday in a village near the country’s global airport, about an hour’s drive southeast of the capital, Monrovia, a city of about 1 million people.
Dr. Margaret Harris, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization, explained that just a single case of the disease means the country has Ebola. His mother, father and siblings are already under quarantine in their home, said Tolbert Nyenswah, who heads up Liberia’s Ebola response.
He further stressed the need for hand washing and other hygienic practices, stating that they were key to getting rid of germs, bacteria and other viruses.
Some of the protesters held placards with inscription: “We will not agree to any negotiation, pay our money”.
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The United Nations official added that Liberia’s response capacity will be tested “at a time when global health organisations have wound down their presence in the affected countries”.
