Two new cases of Ebola have surfaced in Sierra Leone’s Tonkolili district after a man died last week in the area where the deadly virus had not been seen for months. The two new cases are relatives of a man who contracted the virus in mid-July, the National Ebola Response Centre’s OB Sisay said:
“We now know where the virus is and we are tracking its movement, by surrounding, containing and eradicating its last remaining chain of transmission,”
Authorities moved quickly to contain the spread, but more cases are feared, he said. Following the death of the unnamed man, authorities quarantined 500 people. The victim contracted the disease in the capital, Freetown, and then travelled to his home village to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.He was treated for a fever at the local hospital but authorities did not call the Ebola emergency number. The Ebola outbreak has killed more than 11,200 people worldwide with nearly all deaths in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.