Another Ebola Case in Sierra Leone

“Our level of preparedness and response capabilities are very high and there is no cause for concern”, said Kelly.

“Right now a team is watching her close family members”, Nabie Kamara said, who works for the Disaster Management Department in Sierra Leone.

Reuters is reporting that the latest victim is a 22- year old female student who sought treatment at a health facility on January 8, but was discharged.

Optimism over the end of the West Africa Ebola outbreak, as announced by the World Health Organization on Thursday, may be short-lived as health officials confirmed positive Ebola tests on a male victim soon after.

Sierra Leone’s northern border area, a maze of waterways, was one of the country’s last Ebola hot spots before it was declared Ebola-free on November 7, and contact tracing was sometimes bedevilled by access problems.

The WHO stressed in its statement declaring the outbreak over on Thursday that the virus could return in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone because it persists in survivors after they have recovered.

Dr. Bruce Aylward, who heads WHO’s Ebola response efforts, said the woman was not buried safely because local health workers had not identified her as a suspected Ebola case.

Sierra Leone activated its new emergency operations center, and a joint investigation is under way involving country officials, the World Health Organization, and other partners.

The Ebola epidemic killed about 11,300 people and infected 28,600 others, mostly in the three nations.

“A new #Ebola case confirmed by the #SierraLeone government spokesperson reflects the ongoing risk of new infections in West Africa”, WHO said, via its Twitter account.

The WHO makes its “Ebola-free” declarations after no cases are reported in a period of 42 days – twice the deadly virus’ incubation cycle of 21 days.

Liberia was first declared free of the disease in May, but new cases emerged two times – forcing officials there to restart the clock. This is said to be especially true of the presence of the virus in men, in the semen of whose bodies the virus can remain for long periods of time.

The report stated that five people who were not part of Jalloh’s parents’ household were involved in washing her corpse, a practice that is considered one of the chief modes of Ebola transmission.