FREETOWN JANUARY 15, 2016 (CISA) – A body has tested positive for Ebola in Sierra Leone, the Health Ministry said on January 15.
According to a spokes person from the Health Ministry, two swab tests carried out on the deceased person by British health organization, Public Health England came back positive in the Tonkolili district east of the capital Freetown.
The announcement came just hours after the World Health Organization (WHO) said transmission of the virus in West Africa had ended, Reuters reported.
WHO had however warned that despite the absence of known transmissions of the disease in over two months there could still be cases of Ebola in the region because survivors can carry the virus for months and pass it to others.
While confirming the latest Ebola case, the WHO said that another major outbreak of the disease is unlikely but reiterated its message of caution. “WHO stresses ongoing risk of flare-ups due to the re-emergence of the virus throughout 2016 due to persistence of the virus in the survivor population,” a spokesman said.
Prior to the latest case Ebola had previously killed more than 11,300 people since 2013 in the world’s deadliest outbreak of the virus.
Majority of the victims were from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, but all three countries had been declared free of the virus: Sierra Leone on November 7, Guinea late last year, and Liberia on Thursday January 14.
