Ebola returns to Guinea

As of press time, an outbreak of ebola had killed five people in the town of Korokpara, Guinea, since March 17. The outbreak was isolated, though its origin was not known. In response to the outbreak, Liberia closed its border crossings with Guinea.

The World Health Organization declared Guinea to be ebola-free in December 2015 but warned that cases could reoccur. A similar small outbreak occurred in Sierra Leone in January 2016 just hours after the country had been declared ebola-free, but it did not spread.

Since the beginning of the ebola outbreak in Western Africa in December 2013, more than 11,000 people have died from the virus, predominantly in the countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.