MONROVIA JULY 03, 2015 (CISA) – Liberia confirmed a third Ebola case on July 2, nearly two months after it was declared Ebola free.
The new cases were registered in the same village of Nedowein, located 40 km south from the capital Monrovia with officials saying they were investigating whether the disease had spread through animals before resurfacing.
World Health Organization (WHO) declared Liberia “Ebola-free” on May 9 but on 21 June 28 a 17-year-old boy fell ill and died after testing positive to the killer disease. On July 1, Deputy Health Minister, Tolbert Nyenswah confirmed a second case, reported Reuters.
“The two (latest) live cases are 24 years old and 27 years old. They are stable,” Nyenswah said on July 2 while confirming the third case adding. “There is no further spread of the virus to any part of the country as we speak.”
“There is no need to panic. Our health team is on top of it. It will be contained,” said President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf following the announcement.
None of the new victims is known to have travelled to Guinea or Sierra Leone, and Nedowein is far from the borders, leading to speculation that there could be hidden pockets of the virus or new means of transmission.
According to the latest WHO report, on June 28, the outbreak of Ebola in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, has so far resulted in 27,514 cases and 11,120 deaths. The highest number was recorded in Sierra Leone (13,119) while Liberia, worst hit by the West African outbreak last year accounts for more than 4,800 of the 11,220 deaths.
Separately, Democratic Republic of Congo, which has periodic Ebola flare-ups, is investigating a possible outbreak in a village.
