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One new confirmed case in previously Ebola-free Liberia

Friday, 20 November 2015 10:38 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 20 November 2015 10:38 AM ]

The photo taken on September 26, 2014 in Liberia shows a health worker attending to a girl at a clinic in Monrovia. (Photo by AFP)

Liberia’s health authorities have reported one confirmed case of Ebola infection in the previously Ebola-free West African country.

Francis Kateh, the chief medical officer and acting head of the Ebola Case Management System, said Friday the latest Ebola victim, a boy, is a resident of the Paynesville district on the outskirts of the capital, Monrovia.

The 10-year-old boy is currently being attended to at a treatment center in the area.

“Yes, yes, you can say confirmed,’ Kateh said, when asked if the case has been confirmed to be Ebola.

Liberia was caught in an epidemic of Ebola in 2014 and 2015, along with the neighboring countries of Guinea and Sierra Leone.

A healthcare worker takes a blood sample from an Ebola survivor as part of a study on the disease, in Monrovia, Liberia, June 17, 2015. (Photo by Reuters)

The first cases of the virus were reported by late March 2014.

However, following an international effort to fight the disease, on May 9, Liberia was declared Ebola-free.

There was a resurgence of the disease in late June affecting four people, two of whom died. Then the country was declared Ebola-free for a second time about a month and a half ago, on September 3, by the World Health Organization.

Ebola is a highly contagious and mortal disease with no proven vaccine or specific treatment.

As of November 10, the WHO and respective governments have reported a total of 28,635 suspected cases and 11,314 deaths.

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