Ebola Resurfaces In Sierra Leone With Teenager's Death

The death of a 16-year-old girl on Sunday due to Ebola infection has cut short Sierra Leone's celebrations of conquest over the deadly virus.

Health authorities suspect that the teenager Kadiatu Thullah may have contracted the virus following sexual intercourse with an Ebola survivor, as the girl had not travelled out of her village in years, Fox News reports. This possibility now raises concerns that the virus may survive longer in sperm as the survivor in question was discharged in March this year after spending many more days than the 90-day period during which the virus is said to be active in sperm.

Following the death, those who came in contact with the girl have been taken to a treatment unit while health authorities have put Bombali village in north of the country, where the girl died, under quarantine.

According to New York Times, the village has not reported a case in 169 days. The country's last known Ebola patient was discharged in August and a countdown had begun to declare Sierra Leone Ebola-free.

Since December 2013, Ebola virus killed more than 11,000 in the worst epidemic mainly affecting Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria.