UN: New case of Ebola found in Liberia
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Ebola virus treatment center where four people are currently being treated is seen in Paynesville, Liberia, July 16, 2015. REUTERS/James Giahyue (Copyright Reuters 2015)
A new case of Ebola has been found in Liberia, a country declared free of the disease on Sept. 3, a senior United Nations official said on Friday.
The patient is a 10-year-old boy who lived in the Paynesville, a suburb east of the capital Monrovia, said the official, who declined to be named.
The case represents a setback for Liberia, which has seen more than 10,600 cases and 4,808 Ebola deaths since it was first announced in March, 2014, according to U.N. World Health Organization figures.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The virus has killed about 11,300 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, but Sierra Leone was declared free of the virus on Nov. 7 and Guinea has begun its countdown to the end of the virus.
The 42-day countdown to be declared Ebola-free starts when the last patient tests negative a second time, normally after a 48-hour gap following their first negative test.
Fear of the virus transformed the three countries and hampered efforts in Sierra Leone and Liberia to recover from civil wars.