Ebola: Sierra Leone records new death after World Health Organization declares outbreak over

The country was pronounced Ebola-free in November by the World Health Organization, but it was only Thursday that neighboring Liberia received a similar assessment.

A 22-year-old female student was taken ill near the Guinean border and died three days ago, with an initial swab testing positive for Ebola, health officials said.

She came from the Northern Kambia District and went to the Northern Tonkolili District for medical attention, he said.

Health officials have sent out a team to the area to search for the people who have been in contact with the victim.

The WHO declares Ebola transmission over when a country goes through two incubation periods – 21 days each – without a new case emerging.

One day after the West Africa region that suffered a two-year Ebola epidemic was declared free of the deadly disease, Sierra Leone has confirmed another death from Ebola.

The WHO emphasized Friday that the possibility of a small number of new cases was expected and that Sierra Leone authorities are acting quickly to prevent the spread of the virus.

This is not the first time Liberia has been declared free of Ebola transmission – the World Health Organization (WHO) made a similar announcement in May 2015, but the virus returned twice, once in June and then again in November. Guinea was declared Ebola-free toward the end of December.

There is a high risk that small outbreaks of Ebola – like the most recent one in Liberia – will occur. Sky News reported that health workers had identified 27 people who had contact with the woman.

“Detecting and breaking every chain of transmission has been a monumental achievement”, Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General, said. The virus can linger in the bodily fluids of some survivors, not producing symptoms but capable of being transmitted to others.

Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia remain on a 90-day period of enhanced surveillance.

“WHO stresses ongoing risk of re-emergence of #Ebola in West Africa throughout 2016 due to persistence of the virus among survivors”.

The declaration is a milestone as there had not yet been a moment where the West African region had no known case of the Ebola virus since the beginning of the epidemic in the year 2013.