HEALTH-EBOLA/LIBERIA Liberia records Ebola death despite being declared virus-free

Record ID: 149074

  • Title: HEALTH-EBOLA/LIBERIA Liberia records Ebola death despite being declared virus-free
  • Date: 30th June 2015
  • Summary: MONROVIA, LIBERIA (JUNE 30, 2015) (REUTERS) JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) LIBERIA MINISTER OF HEALTH, BERNIC DAHN, SAYING: "The information we know so far is that the sample was taken from a male, 17-year-old dead body from lower Margibi county. The burial team was called by the family. They conducted the swab, so they took the swab for the lab, and
  • Embargoed: 15th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Liberia
  • Country: Liberia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAEHKCPZ8VQZJULPEP4T6R5VK58
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A Liberian teenager has died of Ebola, the government announced on Tuesday (June 30), more than seven weeks after the west African country was declared free of the deadly virus.
    The body of the 17-year-old tested positive for Ebola on Sunday (June 28) and he was buried the same day.
    Liberia's Health Minister told a news conference in the capital, Monrovia, that an investigation is underway.
    "The information we know so far is that the sample was taken from a male, 17-year-old dead body from lower Margibi county. The burial team was called by the family. They conducted the swab, so they took the swab for the lab, and safe burial was done by the burial team. The sample was sent out for testing, it was sent to the laboratory for testing. On receipt of this positive result, the incident management system activated a team to conduct a detailed investigation in the area," said the Health Minister, Bernic Dahn.
    Margibi County, a rural area near Monrovia, is home to the country's main international airport.
    The Health Minister said the existing infrastructure set up to combat Ebola helped in handling the case.
    "The structures we have in place to strengthen our surveillance system in Liberia allowed us to respond quickly. It is critical that Liberians and all those residing in our borders remain vigilant, do not panic, and continue all the preventive measures to stop the spread," said Dahn.
    It is the first recorded case of the disease in Liberia, one of the countries at the heart of the world's worst Ebola epidemic, since it was declared virus-free on May 9 after going 42 days without any new infections.
    "The incident management team is working with partners to coordinate with the Margibi County health team for contact tracing, psychosocial support, community engagement and reactivation of the ETU (Ebola Treatment Unit) in Margibi to ensure the families are receiving basic food and other services," Dahn added.
    Officials were not immediately able to say how the victim caught the virus.
    "What we don't know is the whether or not the epi-link and chain of transmission. We also don't know at this stage the source of infection. This is what we are investigating," said the Deputy Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah.
    "Border closure is not an option. We have the borders protected very well. We have the surveillance system going on there. We have not established whether or not this case came from any country across the border. That's something we are investigating," said Nyenswah.
    Aid workers said they were encouraged that authorities had followed swift burial procedures but said there was a risk of further cases, especially since the virus was only detected posthumously.
    Ebola, which is transmitted through body fluids, is most contagious during the late stages when victims often suffer heavy bleeding, diarrhoea and vomiting.
    A total of 11,207 people have died from Ebola in Liberia, neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone since the outbreak began in December 2013, according to the WHO. Around 43 percent of those deaths were in Liberia, where the epidemic peaked between August and October with hundreds of cases a week.
    New incidences have tapered this year, with 12 new confirmed cases reported in Guinea and eight in Sierra Leone in the week to June 21, according to WHO figures. Even so, health officials urge vigilance to prevent a resurgence of the disease.
    A military operation from long-term ally the United States, plus hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, helped Liberia control the outbreak by improving sanitation and providing safe burials.
    Ebola damaged the health care systems and economies of the three West African countries and caused global alarm that peaked in September and October when isolated cases were confirmed in countries such as the United States and Spain. Nigeria, Senegal and Mali also recorded at least one case each.
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