Two new Ebola cases in Guinea after epidemic thought over

Guinea has recorded two new Ebola cases and three potential ones, more than two months after the virus was officially declared over in the country.

The cases were detected in Nzerekore region, some 1,000 km south of the capital Conakry, the national radio said Thursday.

Sources in Koropara village in the region said that a man and two of his wives died recently after suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea and that tests on the family members have proved positive for Ebola.

An unnamed official of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Guinea attributed the return of the Ebola cases to negligence by the regional team of the country's National Anti-Ebola Committee, saying they didn't relay the information on time.

The communications officer of the National Anti-Ebola Committee, Fode Tass Sylla, said a team of experts was expected to leave Conakry on Thursday for the village to assess the situation.

The WHO on Dec. 29 last year declared the end of Ebola virus in Guinea after no new cases were reported in an incubation period of 42 days since the last patient was discharged.

The outbreak of the disease in West Africa was thought "over" in January but new cases were later reported in Sierra Leone, and this time in Guinea.

The deadly virus has killed over 11,000 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea since the outbreak was reported early 2014. Endit