In an effort to control the epidemic, Sierra Leone said this week it would extend a curfew in affected areas by 30 days. Together, the two countries reported 27 cases in the week to July 5. Liberia, the country worst hit by the virus, was declared Ebola-free on May 9 and was hailed as an example for neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone, which are struggling to eliminate the virus. “Maybe this investigation will lead us to yet another bodily fluid where the virus can persist for months.” “Ebola still has much to teach us,” he told Reuters. But it is known to have the ability to lurk in semen and in some soft tissues, such as the eye, for up to several months after recovery.īen Neuman, a virologist at Britain’s Reading University, said it was possible that other parts of the body could harbour the virus in a way that scientists are not yet aware of. ![]() With a mortality rate of around 50 percent, thousands of people have survived the deadly virus, raising the prospect that they could reactivate transmission through sexual intercourse or other unknown means.Įbola is thought to be able to survive no more than 21 days in most body fluids, such as blood and vomit, which are the primary means of transmission. “This (test) suggests that the virus has remained latent within Liberia,” the health official said. The case baffled officials since Memaigar lived in central Liberia’s Margibi County, far from hotspots of the epidemic in neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone, and was not known to have been in contact with any travellers. The discovery of a new case in Liberia was a major setback in the fight against the worst recorded outbreak of Ebola, which has killed more than 11,200 people across West Africa. Since then, a further four cases have been confirmed. Liberia’s first Ebola case in nearly two months was reported on June 30 when the body of a 17-year-old boy, Abraham Memaigar, tested positive for the virus in Margibi County. ![]() ![]() “So it’s either (from) a survivor or non-identified transmission in the community.”
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