Sierra Leone puts over 100 people in quarantine after new Ebola death

The agency said the 42-day countdown to Sierra Leone being declared free of transmission once more would begin again from the date of the latest victim’s burial if no more cases were uncovered.

I think more vigilance is needed. “As long as there is infectious virus that continues to hide out … that is a potential for a reignition of this outbreak, especially if we relax infection control and prevention”.

Government officials are working both to handle the flare-up quickly and prevent future flare-ups from occurring.

Already 10 other flare-ups have taken place in areas where the spread of Ebola was thought to have ended, raising new questions about World Health Organization procedures in assessing whether an epidemic was really over.

Since March 2014, the Ebola epidemic has claimed the lives of more than 11,300 people and infected over 28,500. It is also reported that a health worker from a local hospital took a blood sample from her without wearing protective clothing. But the new case in Sierra Leone is especially disquieting because authorities failed to follow basic health protocols.

The missed diagnosis has led to anger in some quarters.

That’s how we stopped the spread of Ebola in West Africa.

Islamic extremist rebels attacked a base for African Union troops in southwestern Somalia on Friday, military officials and insurgents said.

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.

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.

The two other worst-affected countries, Sierra Leone and Guinea, were declared Ebola-free a year ago.

He said there was a key difference between ongoing transmission and sporadic cases. Health officials are now on the alert for more cases just as the deadliest outbreak on record appeared to be ending.

Ebola causes severe fever and muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea. Of particular concern is that Ebola can stay in the semen of some male survivors up to a year later. Dozens of young people gathered outside the hospital on Friday in a noisy demonstration, some holding placards accusing the health department of negligence.

Francis Langoba Kellie, a spokesman for Sierra Leone’s Office of National Security, said on the radio that the woman had come from the country’s Northern Kambia District and had gone to the Northern Tonkolili District for medical care. He did not give further details. Sierra Leone had received the all-clear last November, and Guinea in December.

Upon finding that she was positive with the virus, 27 people were quarantined as it is believed that they have been exposed to her before she died.