15-year-old boy dies of Ebola in Liberia, first fatality for months

A 15-year-old boy has died of Ebola in Liberia, the first such fatality for months in a country declared free of the disease in September, chief medical officer Francis Kateh said on Tuesday. Nathan Gbotoe tested positive last week and died late on Monday in hospital in Paynesville near the capital, where his father and brother are also being treated for Ebola, said officials. Liberia has placed under surveillance 153 people who may have come into contact with Gbotoe. An additional 25 healthcare workers are being monitored, of which 10 are identified as high-risk, Kateh said.

We have three confirmed cases and have listed 153 contacts, and we have labeled them as high, medium and low in terms of the risk.

Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francis Kateh

The source of the virus is being investigated and Liberia has requested the assistance of two experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. The World Health Organization (WHO) - heavily criticised earlier this week for its slow response to the epidemic - has twice declared the West African nation to be Ebola-free, once on May 9 and again on Sept. 3. Liberia’s last Ebola death was in July. More than 11,300 people have died of the virus since the outbreak was announced in March 2014. Of the three countries hardest hit, Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free on Nov. 7 and Guinea started its own countdown to zero on Nov. 16.

Liberia Ebola Africa