Liberia confirms first new Ebola case in more than 2 weeks - died

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/ebola-o...eeks-1.2289729

Ebola outbreak: Liberia confirms first new case in more than 2 weeks
Jonathan Paye-Layleh, The Associated Press
Published Friday, March 20, 2015 1:33PM EDT
Last Updated Friday, March 20, 2015 1:51PM EDT

MONROVIA, Liberia -- A patient has tested positive for Ebola in Liberia's capital, officials said Friday, deflating hopes that the West African nation had beaten the disease after weeks with no new cases...

...Countries must wait 42 days from when the last patient tests negative before an outbreak is declared over.

Now, a new patient has tested positive, Dr. Francis Kateh, the acting head of the country's Ebola Incident Management Team, said Friday. A second test is generally done to confirm the diagnosis.

Tolbert Nyenswah, who runs Liberia's Ebola response, also said he had been told the test result was positive. He said the patient has been transferred to an Ebola treatment centre in Monrovia...

[Pathfinder]

FrontPageAfrica (Monrovia)
23 MARCH 2015

Liberia: 86 Persons Quarantined in New Ebola Virus Emergence

By Wade C. L. Williams

86 quarantined in new Ebola patient's house; over 100 contacts; 2,000 students at risk

"On Monday she had a fever, but we were still looking after her and on Thursday, her fever became worse. During the night, when I went to check on her, she was in pain." - Laurence Doe Innis, brother of Liberia's latest confirmed Ebola patient
...
He said his sister, Ruth Tugbheh, 44, got sick on Sunday, March 15 and her condition became worse on Thursday of the same week
...
Abraham B. Fahnbulleh, an active case finder with the UNDP and the Ministry of Health said this case could be a turning point in terms of the gains made because of the number of contacts that are being traced. He said the Ebola patient used to sell cooked meal to two schools in the community and even when she was sick, she continued selling, putting both teachers and students at risk. He said there are also two teachers staying in the same house as the patient and teaching at different schools.
...
Pastor Pius Ford Williams is Psychosocial Counselor, of a Community based initiative at the Ministry of health in Monrovia and is based in the Caldwell area. Pastor Williams' theory, which has resonated with about everyone spoken to in the community is that Ebola patient Tugbeh may have become infected through sexual intercourse with someone who is an Ebola Survivor.

"Ruth Tugbeh has a Boyfriend and that boyfriend is a survivor and his name is Jarkloh. He lives in New Kru Town on Karpeh Street," said Pastor Williams. "They said she left here and went to Jarkloh and slept there about two weeks ago, but when she came back all of a sudden last week she fell ill."
...
"We are still investigating the source of this new infection. There is not much evidence to prove that she must have traveled outside Caldwell; to say that she must have gotten it from bordering towns. The speculation is that the survivor must have infected her based upon sexual intercourse," said Minister Jackson.

Minister Jackson said the issue of how to control men who survive the disease from having sex is one of the biggest challenges the government is faced with in its response to Ebola at this time. He said many people who survive the disease have not respected the 90 day window given them by medical workers to abstain from sex.

...

http://allafrica.com/stories/201503231925.html

[Pathfinder]

Exposure Concerns Grow in Liberia After Diagnosis of First Ebola Case in Weeks

By SHERI FINKMARCH 24, 2015

Worries have widened in recent days over the number of people in Liberia who may have been exposed to the country?s first Ebola case in more than two weeks, a street vendor who lived in a one-bathroom house shared with 52 others in a Monrovia suburb and who had sold food at a school where more than 1,900 students are enrolled.
...
On Tuesday the patient?s 18-year-old daughter, Beneta Kun, developed a headache and weakness and was taken to an Ebola treatment unit for testing, aid workers in Liberia reported.
...
Ms. Martor said the girl, who bathed her mother when she was ill, and other family members considered high-risk contacts were isolated Monday and were being monitored.
...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/25/world/africa/exposure-concerns-grow-in-liberia-after-diagnosis-of-first-ebola-case-in-weeks.html?_r=0

[alert]

From today's ProMED report, confirming the above case plus an unrelated one:

25 Mar 2015: Liberia reports 2 new Ebola cases [in addition to the case above]

http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/483684--liberia-reports-2-new-ebola-cases

[Total new cases: 3. One of the 2 cases involved an 18-year-old girl who was taking care of her 44-year-old mother who recently tested positive for the virus. The 2nd new case is a young man whose girlfriend is said to be involved in cross-border trade from the New Kru Town community (town in a suburb of Liberia's capital, Monrovia). Contact tracers are still trying to convince the young man to reveal his contacts. He was discovered to have Ebola after being seen in the Clara Town area vomiting blood, following which he was taken to the Ebola treatment unit.]

[Pathfinder]

Health | Fri Mar 27, 2015 6:45pm EDT Related: HEALTH

Liberia's sole remaining known Ebola patient dies

(Reuters) - A woman who was Liberia's sole remaining known Ebola patient died on Friday at a treatment center in the capital, said Francis Ketteh, acting head of the country's Ebola response team.

The case was Liberia's first in weeks and it set back efforts to halt a virus that has killed more than 10,000 people in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Authorities say the woman may have contracted Ebola through sex with a survivor.

"We have been able to trace the people she came in contact with," Ketteh said. "We call on everyone to follow the Ebola preventative measures."
...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/27/us-health-ebola-liberia-idUSKBN0MN2NU20150327