Following the death of a man of the Ebola Virus disease a week ago, two new cases of the fatal illness have been recorded in Sierra Leone’s Tonkolili district. The victim contracted the disease in Freetown, and then travelled to his home village to mark the end of the Ramadan.
He was treated for a fever at the local hospital but authorities did not contact the Ebola emergency team. The two new cases are relatives of the man.Northern Tonkolili had not had a single case of Ebola in five months. His family and friends buried him without following the special procedures required for Ebola victims to avoid spreading the disease.
The National Ebola Response Centre’s OB Sisay said that “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 have quarantined 500 people following his death.