Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown has suffered a fresh outbreak of Ebola, dashing hopes that health authorities in the densely-populated city of 1.2 million had beaten the deadly epidemic.
Health officials say there are fears of further infections as the cases occurred in a densely populated slum. Sierra Leone’s National Ebola Response Centre said there was great concern because all Ebola quarantine facilities in Freetown had been closed. West Africa is recovering from the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history. More than 11,000 people have died since December 2013.
Health officials said six people have been under observation since the first of the new cases – a casual labourer – tested positive on June 17.Liberia was declared Ebola-free in May, but hopes that neighbouring Sierra Leone and Guinea would quickly follow suit have been dashed recently, with the weekly toll of infections in the two countries hovering around 25.
The latest cases were found in the Freetown slum of Magazine. The north of Sierra Leone continues to be affected by Ebola, as does neighbouring Guinea. Last month, six people were put in isolation in prison in Guinea after being accused of travelling with a corpse of a relative who had died of Ebola.
