A death caused by Ebola has been confirmed in Sierra Leone, just hours after the World Health Organization announced that the latest outbreak of the deadly disease in West Africa had concluded. Sierra Leone was originally declared to be free of the dangerous virus on November 7th. The region as a whole was deemed to be free of Ebola after the disease was determined to be eliminated from Liberia on Thursday. The death in Sierra Leone occurred earlier in the week.
Tests that were conducted on the deceased individual in northern Sierra Leone tested positive for Ebola. The news was confirmed by a spokesperson from an Ebola test center in the region. Now, the World Health Organization is very worried that more flare-ups could show up in the future.
According to spokesperson for at an Ebola test center Sidi Yahya, the patient died while in the Tonkolili district of Sierra Leone. The patient had traveled to the area from Kambia, which is close to the border shared with Guinea.
The Ebola testing was conducted by British health experts. Reports indicate that the health experts are now desperately searching for everyone who may have come into contact with the victim while he had the deadly virus. The disease is known to be extremely contagious, and it could have easily spread to others.
Since December of 2013, almost 4,000 people have died because of Ebola in Sierra Leone. Across the region as whole, more than 11,000 people have fallen victim to the disease.
Liberia was the final country to put an end to the active transmission of Ebola. However, the country had been declared to be free of Ebola twice in the past, only for the virus to later emerge once again. A country is considered to be free of Ebola after two three week incubation periods have taken place since the last known case tested negative in a second series of testing.
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