Test
show new Liberian Ebola case similar to earlier virus
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[July 10, 2015] DAKAR/GENEVA
(Reuters) - Tests on the Ebola virus that claimed Liberia's first victim
since it was declared Ebola-free in May showed it was closely related to
an earlier Liberian strain, the World Health Organization and a health
official said on Friday.
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The findings suggest the disease was never entirely eliminated from
the West African country.
"It indicates that the virus is closely related to one that was
circulating in Liberia in that particular area," WHO spokesman Tarik
Jasarevic said, confirming initial results of the genetic tests
obtained by Reuters.
"So it's either (from) a survivor or non-identified transmission in
the community," he added.
Liberia's first Ebola case in nearly two months was reported on June
30 when the body of a 17-year-old boy, Abraham Memaigar, tested
positive for the virus in Margibi County.
The case has baffled officials since Memaigar lived far from the
hotspots of the epidemic on the borders with Guinea and Sierra
Leone, and was not known to have been in contact with any travelers.
Ebola is thought to be able to survive no more than 21 days in most
body fluids, such as blood and vomit, but is known to persist in
semen and in some soft tissues, such as the eye, for months after
recovery.
(Reporting by Emma Farge in Dakar and Tom Miles in Geneva; Editing
by Kevin Liffey)
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