A carer for a woman who died of Ebola in Sierra Leone has now been infected with the virus, heightening fears of a fresh flare-up just days after the nation was declared officially free of the disease.
The second case to be identified in less than a week is a 38-year-old woman who had helped care for last week’s victim, Mariatu Jalloh, health ministry spokesman Sidi Yahyah Tunis said according to a report by Reuters news agency.
Jalloh, a 22-year-old student who died from the disease on January 12, tested positive for Ebola posthumously. Her death marked a further setback in efforts to end a two-year epidemic that has killed more than 11,300 people across West Africa.
The new cases come as reports emerge that fear and suspicion in the country, which had also previously been declared Ebola-free in November, were hampering’ attempts to stop the spread of the virus.
