The World Health Organization (WHO): Liberia loses Ebola-free status after new case confirmed

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday in Geneva that Liberia has lost its Ebola-free status after new case confirmed.

Tarik Jasarevic, WHO Spokesman, said a new case was confirmed in Liberia after the country had been declared the first West African nation to be free of the virus in early May.

He said the infection was detected in a deceased person, who was buried in a way that prevents further infections.

“The case showed that Liberia’s surveillance system is working and that even dead people were being tested.

“If there are no further cases, it will take another 42 days to declare Liberia free of Ebola again,’’ he said.

Jasarevic noted that Neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone have not yet been able to stop transmissions of the virus that causes the deadly haemorrhagic fever, reports dpa.

According to WHO, more than 27,000 people have been infected and more than 11,000 have died from Ebola in the three West African countries since December 2013.