Liberian health authorities confirmed two more people have been infected with Ebola, bringing to five the number of cases in a new bout since the country was declared free of the virus two months ago.
The government is tracing almost 150 people who had contact with the first recent case, a 17-year-old who died in a town near the Roberts International Airport, a former U.S. air force base outside the capital, Monrovia, Health Ministry spokesman John Sumo said by phone.
The worst-ever Ebola epidemic in West Africa has killed more than 11,200 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The World Health Organization declared Liberia as Ebola-free in early May after a more than yearlong outbreak in the country that at its peak was infecting as many as 400 people a week. Sierra Leone and Guinea haven’t managed to contain the disease.
The presidents of the three affected African nations are scheduled to attend an Ebola recovery conference to be held at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday. Donors are expected make pledges toward a target of $3.2 billion to help the economies repair from the epidemic over the next two years, according to a statement from the UN.
The World Health Organization still needs to examine crucial aspects of the disease, David Nabarro, the UN special envoy on Ebola, told reporters on Thursday in New York. Further study must be done to determine how long the virus remains in the body, including in the prostate glands, fetus and eyes, and whether animals in areas where there’s been an outbreak are more likely to harbor the disease, Nabarro said.
There’s no proven cure for Ebola, which jumps to humans from animals such as fruit bats and chimpanzees. The virus spreads from contact with bodily fluids such as blood, feces and vomit.