MONROVIA, Liberia, April 4 (UPI) — Doctors in Liberia confirmed a second Ebola case on Sunday. The patient is the 5-year-old son of the 30-year-old woman who succumbed to the disease at a hospital in Monrovia on Thursday.
The World Health Organization confirmed the woman’s Ebola diagnosis on Friday, just days after declaring that the West African Ebola epidemic no longer presented a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
“Guinea, Liberia and Sierra now have the detection and response capacities in place to effectively manage ongoing flare-ups of Ebola,” WHO said in a news release.
The two cases are Liberia’s third flareup since the country declared the initial crisis over in May of last year.
Health officials in Monrovia believe the infection originated in neighboring Guinea and that the woman crossed into Liberia while the border was closed. The woman traveled to Liberia with her three children and sister.
The initial investigation by health officials has identified at least 46 people who had close contact with the deceased woman. They are currently being monitored for symptoms.
