The country's government rapidly responded to the new case and a team is investigating its origin and trying to stop it from spreading, the WHO said in a statement.
Francis Langoba Kelly, spokesman for Sierra Leone's Office of National Security, told local radio Friday that tests on a woman who died in the country’s north earlier this month were positive for the virus, the Associated Press reported. Kelly said the country’s level of preparedness is high and there is no cause for concern, according to the news agency.
The WHO said it stressed in its statement declaring the outbreak over on Thursday that the virus could return in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone because it persists in survivors after they have recovered.
It was the first time since the epidemic began in December 2013 that all three nations had gone at least 42 days without new cases. Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free Nov. 7 and Guinea followed suit Dec. 29. Liberia has been declared Ebola-free twice before — most recently two months ago — only to see the virus re-emerge.
The virus killed a total of 11,315 people including 4,000 in Sierra Leone, and sickened nearly 29,000.
"Ebola-free" declarations are mathematical milestones, issued after two, 21-day incubation cycles pass without any new cases.usatoday
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