A woman has died of Ebola in the capitol of Liberia. She is the sixth confirmed case of the virus. The end of the Ebola outbreak in that country turned out to be only a 7-week-long lull.
The woman died a few hours after admission to the hospital in Monrovia. She is thought to have had contact with five other cases of Ebola that were confirmed in Margibi County, which is a county neighboring capital city Monrovia. This locale is raising fears that the Ebola virus is spreading in new areas of Liberia.
The fact that she came to the hospital so late in her infection also raises worry that surveillance of people known to have come into contact with Ebola patients has not been as rigorous as it needs to be.
The new infections in Liberia may have come about because people who survived the virus still carry it in their bodies longer than earlier suspected. The transmission of the virus may take place during sex, since the virus is known to live in semen for several weeks after the man survives the infection.
A United Nations official has said that the Ebola epidemic continues in Guinea and Sierra Leone and that it may be due to people becoming complacent.
Ebola has killed more than 11,200 people in West Africa since the outbreak began in December 2013. The countries that have had the most cases are Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.