Ebola Kills Sierra Leone Boy as West Africa Marks End of Virus Outbreak © REUTERS/ Baz Ratner

07:02 15.01.2016(updated 07:10 15.01.2016) Get short URL
http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160115/1033164953/sierra-leone-ebola-kills-boy.html

The Ebola virus killed a boy in Sierra Leone right after West Africa was declared Ebola-free, health officials said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Spokesman of Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation Sidi Yahya Tunis told BBC on Thursday, hours after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the end of the Ebola outbreak in the region, that they boy died from the virus in the country’s northern Tonkolili district.

Two tests conducted on the boy by British health experts proved positive for Ebola, according to BBC.

In December 2013, an Ebola outbreak started in Guinea, later spreading to Liberia and Sierra Leone. The virus has claimed the lives of over 11,000 people, according to WHO estimates.

Sierra Leone declared the end of Ebola transmission in November 2015. Guinea marked the end of the Ebola virus in December. Liberia announced that it was Ebola-free on Thursday.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned on Wednesday that Ebola virus outbreaks would happen in 2016 despite the fact that all known chains of Ebola transmission had been stopped in West Africa.

Ebola is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of those infected. Some of the early symptoms include a sudden onset of fever, fatigue and sore throat, which are followed by vomiting and diarrhea. People remain infectious as long as their blood contains the virus, according to the WHO.

Russia has developed and registered a highly-effective vaccine against the deadly Ebola virus.