Liberia’s health ministry said lab tests have confirmed Ebola hemorrhagic fever in two patients from a district that borders Guinea, the country where the outbreak began, according to a statement yesterday from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Liberia is located near the Guinea and Sierra Leone boundaries. These places were first reported to have cases of the Ebola outbreak. In Lofa County, a woman married to a Guinean died positive of Ebola. Tests were conducted that showed her positive to the virus. The woman’s sister is also positive to the disease. She is now being treated outside Monrovia.
The deadly Ebola virus first spread in Congo in 1976 with more than 1500 deaths. However, this is the first time that the virus has hit the Western part of Africa.
According to a report from Reuters citing an anonymous Liberian health official, the Liberian government would issue a statement regarding the outbreak on Monday.
Agencies/Canadajournal