Ebola Virus Outbreak in Sierra Leone Records Five Deaths

On Monday, the World Health Organization reported the first Ebola virus outbreak in Sierra Leone in West Africa. The first case of the virus in West Africa was documented in Guinea back in December where outbreaks occurred for months.

Guinea has experienced the worst of the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa. As of May 21, Guinea's Ministry of Health reported 258 documented cases of the virus since December 2013 with 174 deaths. During the outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone recorded 14 suspected cases of the virus, and they were sporadic. The samples were sent to a lab where they came back negative.

But on Monday, the WHO posted a statement on its website that they were notified of an Ebola virus outbreak in Sierra Leone. The Koindu chiefdom reported preliminary information received from the VHF laboratory in Kenema, Sierra Leone. The chiefdom borders Guéckédou in Guinea, the country hit hardest by the Ebola virus. As of late, health officials had worked to contain the virus, but the outbreak in Sierra Leone poses another issue.

As a result, the WHO sent six international experts in various fields to assist the newly infected country, along with essential supplies and reagents. This team is assigned to conduct epidemiological investigations and initiate preliminary response measures. Officials hope the situation doesn't escalate to the magnitude of the one in Guinea, where treatment centers were placed in various parts of the country to quarantine and treat those who were ill.

"I can categorically confirm that the Ebola sickness has materialised," said health ministry official Amara Jambai, in this Aljazeera news article. "Of the four deaths only one has been confirmed as dying from Ebola after two independent tests at the Kenema Laboratory Centre. The cause of death of the other three is still being investigated."

The Ebola virus has a fatality rate of up to 90% and is transmitted through close contact with blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected animals. It is then spread from human to human through direct contact. In Africa, reports have found that the virus began its transmission to humans through the handling of chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope, and porcupines.