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WHO Confirms 2nd New Ebola Case in Sierra Leone

WHO Confirms 2nd New Ebola Case in Sierra Leone
WHO Confirms 2nd New Ebola Case in Sierra Leone

A new case of Ebola has been confirmed in Sierra Leone, officials said Thursday, the second since west Africa celebrated the end of the epidemic last week.

The fresh outbreak has prompted the country to re-open its Ebola treatment centers and relaunch screening systems, including checkpoints on motorways, a grim reminder of the much feared tropical virus, AFP reported.

The World Health Organization said the new case involved the aunt of 22-year-old Marie Jalloh, who died of Ebola on January 12.

The 38-year-old woman “was a primary caregiver during (her niece’s) illness,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told AFP in an email.

He added that the patient had developed symptoms on Wednesday while she was being monitored at a quarantine facility.

So far, 150 of Jalloh’s contacts had been identified, “of which 42 are high risk,” Jasarevic said, noting that the list of people who needed to be monitored was likely to grow following the new confirmed case.

Sierra Leone’s health ministry spokesman Sidi Yahya Tunis also confirmed the new patient, saying the aunt had helped wash Jalloh’s body to prepare it for burial.

“We are expecting other cases particularly from those who washed the body before the burial of Marie,” he told reporters.

Financialtribune.com