Ebola Update - Two months after Liberia was declared virus-free, Ebola re-emerged in one of the three worst-struck nations in West Africa. Based on the data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 30 confirmed cases were documented in the past weeks — 3 in Liberia, 18 in Guinea and 9 in Sierra Leone. Now, the number of cases in Liberia has risen to 6.

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A year ago, the deadly Ebola outbreak devastated the health systems and the economies of West Africa, particularly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The epidemic was considered as the largest and worst outbreak ever experienced globally where more than 11,200 people were killed and over 27,500 were infected. That's why the resurgence of the virus in Liberia this week sparked fears for an imminent outbreak.

According to a senior medical official, a Liberian woman identified as Kebbeh Kollie is the latest victim who has died of Ebola in a hospital shortly after being admitted. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the woman was the sixth confirmed case and the second death since the virus re-emerged last month.

The victim was also the sister of another Liberian, who is one of the five Ebola cases found in neighboring Margibi County, where Ebola resurfaced after a seven-week respite. Her case has raised fears about the spreading of infection in Liberia's Montserrado County and its capital.

"There is one new case," Liberia's chief medical officer Dr. Francis Kateh said. "This time, the response area is Montserrado County. The person died in Monrovia."

While the outbreak is still active in Sierra Leone and Guinea, Liberia was declared Ebola-free on May 9. Outbreak News Today noted that the Ebola outbreak had killed 4,806 in Liberia out of the 10,666 cases. Although virus transmission had stopped, the West African nation remained at high risk of Ebola virus recurrence due to ongoing transmission in neighboring Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Meanwhile, the virus strain that re-emerged in Liberia does not appear to be genetically similar to those in Sierra Leone and Guinea, USA Today reported. Thus, the new infections are not cause of cross-border contamination. As per WHO, the strain is similar to one that circulated in Liberia last year. And health officials said the virus probably remained latent and could have been reactivated by a survivor through sexual transmission.

For now, Liberian government health officials are boosting up responses in Monrovia, monitoring more than 140 people exposed to the virus, including 16 placed under isolation.

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