MONROVIA, Montserrado – Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Francis Kateh, in a press briefing on Tuesday said health authorities have still not identified the source of the newest outbreak of Ebola.

According to Kateh, the US Center for Disease Control has sent two experts to Liberia to help determine the source of the virus.

At the time of his announcement, there were still only three confirmed cases of the virus in the newest outbreak.

“The first contact, which happens to be a 15-year-old boy, died late Monday, November 23 at the Emergency Treatment Unit in Monrovia,” Kateh added.

He clarified that the initial reporting of the boy’s age as 10 was a result of “a mistake from the Ministry of Health” and that it was later established that the deceased was 15 years old.

The father and brother of the latest Ebola victim are the other two patients. They are currently undergoing treatment at the ELWA 3 Ebola Treatment Unit.

Kateh also said that 25 health workers have been labeled as high risk in the newest outbreak. Most of them were at the Duport Road Health Clinic, where the patient was first taken. They had come into contact with the deceased before he was suspected of Ebola.

“Ten out of the 25 healthcare workers have voluntarily opted to go into the precautionary observation center to be monitored and have so far not shown any signs and symptoms of the deadly virus,” Kateh maintained.

The revelation suggests that healthcare facilities have relaxed their safety precautions since the epidemic was contained.

Besides the health workers, Kateh also said a total of 152 contacts had been identified. They are individuals who recently interacted with the patients.

The Chief Medical Officer admonished Liberians to be vigilant and report ill or dead persons in their communities by calling 4455.

“The Ministry of Health has activated 12 burial teams around Monrovia in case of any eventuality,” Kateh said.

He assured the public that there was no need to panic over the latest outbreak, stressing that “health authorities are in full control of the situation.”

Liberia recorded its first Ebola case in March 2014. The country has since seen more than 10,000 Ebola cases and more than 4,000 deaths.

The outbreak in Liberia was first declared over on May 9, only to re-emerge seven weeks later when a 17-year-old man died from the disease and more cases were reported.

The new Ebola cases in Liberia come less than a week after Guinea released its last patient and began the 42-day countdown to being declared Ebola-free. Sierra Leone is also counting down to.

Ebola was first identified in 1976 and occurs in regions of sub-Saharan Africa. The recent epidemic is the worst and has killed about 11,300 people, mainly in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

Featured photo by UNMEER/Martine Perret