TVC NEWS – Hours after the World Health Organization declared the latest West Africa outbreak over, Sierra Leone officials have confirmed a new death from Ebola.
The country was declared free of the virus on 7 November, and the region as a whole was cleared when Liberia was pronounced Ebola-free on Thursday.
The news was made known after tests carried out on the person who died earlier this week in northern Sierra Leone, Tonkolili district, proved positive.
The deceased is said to have travelled there from Kambia, close to the border with Guinea.
The tests were conducted by British health experts and health officials are now urgently seeking those who had come into contact with the victim.
Close to 4,000 people have died of Ebola in Sierra Leone, and 11,000 people across the region, since December 2013.
Liberia was the last country to see the end of active transmission of Ebola. But it had been declared clear twice before, only for the infection to re-emerge.
A country is considered free of human-to-human transmission once two 21-day incubation periods have passed since the last known case tested negative for a second time.
The WHO has warned, however, that more flare-ups are expected.
