A case of Ebola has been diagnosed in Guinea, a health agency spokesman said on Friday, resetting a count that had begun last week to declaring the country free of the virus.
An Ebola outbreak is typically declared over once 42 days have passed following a second negative test of blood samples from the last confirmed case.
The case was detected on Thursday in the southeastern town of Soulouta, less than 20 kilometers (12 miles) from where the current outbreak began in February. “It is still unclear if this is a contact case. Investigations are ongoing,” the spokesman said.
Since the disease’s deadliest epidemic, more than 11,000 people died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone between 2013 and 2016.
15 people have tested positive for Ebola in the Guinea and nine have died since the first resurgence of the disease.
Guinea began a vaccination campaign to contain the spread of the virus at the end of February.
Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s regional head for Africa, Tweeted: “Saddened to hear of the Ebola case reported in Guinea … We remain on high alert — supporting Guinean health authorities’ surveillance efforts and preparedness in neighboring areas”.
In March, the WHO said the February resurgence is likely to have been sparked by a latent infection in the human population from the last Ebola outbreak rather than from the virus skipping the species barrier again.
