New Ebola case emerges in Sierra Leone

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Liberia had been declared Ebola-free twice before Thursday.

A Sierra Leone official said a corpse tested positive for Ebola, the day after the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak over in West Africa.

“The case has been confirmed. The information that I have is it’s a woman who passed away and then was tested [positive] for Ebola. She passed away on January 12,” said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic.

Though WHO has not yet confirmed the identity of the victim, reports indicate that the victim was a 22—year—old woman from the Guinean border who came to the northern Tonkolili district for medical help.

Francis Langoba Kelly, spokesman for the Office of National Security, told local radio Friday that tests on a woman who died in the country’s north earlier this month were positive for the virus. Kelly said the country’s level of preparedness is high and there is no cause for concern.

Nearly 4,000 people died before Sierra Leone was first declared free from transmission Nov. 7. Guinea marked that day on Nov. 29. Liberia had been declared Ebola-free twice before Thursday. Officials warned flare—-ups were possible.

Ebola has killed more than 11,300 people, mostly in West Africa, since it emerged at the end of 2013.