Ministry of health and sanitation says a nine-year-old was tested positive for the disease after his death in the eastern Kailahun district of the country

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Ebola has struck again in the district where the epidemic originated in Sierra Leone, dashing hopes of a recovery after more than three months during which no cases had been reported.

The ministry of health and sanitation confirmed a case of the virus on Saturday in the eastern Kailahun district of the country. A nine-month-old boy was tested positive for Ebola after his death, authorities said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has flown a rapid response team to the area to investigate and guard against an epidemic in the area where Médecins sans Frontières opened its first field hospital last summer.



Alex Bonapha, the Kailahun district council chairman, said it was not clear how the boy had contracted Ebola because both his parents were healthy. He said the boy might have been infected during a blood transfusion or there might have been a problem with the sample that was tested.

Sources at the Nixon hospital in Kailahun district confirmed that the boy had had a blood transfusion. “I am aware of the weakness in the health system which means that the blood transfused into the baby could well not have been the blood that had been donated by his uncle,” Bonapha told Reuters.

A spokeswoman in Sierra Leone said there had been worrying instances in the past week of families failing to reveal new cases to the emergency services, threatening a spread of the virus.



There is also increased fear about Ebola crossing the borders between the three countries most affected: Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

The WHO said it had observed one village, four hours from the capital, where 59 people had been been infected since February.

“Sadly, over 40 died,” the spokeswoman said. “Many of them were elderly, meaning they had a poorer chance of recovering. We also met survivors, including many children and a young couple. The village has surpassed 21 days without an infection, for which there was a celebration this week.

“Despite that good news, many residents looked shell-shocked and will need ongoing support to overcome their sadness and anger towards the family who brought Ebola into their town.

“This epidemic isn’t over. When someone dies of Ebola in their home, it is a sign of more cases to come,” she said.



The virus has infected more than 8,500 people since it struck Kailahan last May, with 3,459 confirmed deaths.