Freetown, Jul 31.- The discovery in Sierra Leone of another strain of the Ebola virus is now on the cusp of several African countries which, years ago, lost thousands of citizens during an epidemic of lethal disease.
The new strain was detected in bats living in the Bombali region, one of the five districts of the Northern Province, by a joint expedition of U.S. and West African scientists, according to the official warning from the Sierra Leonean government.
Fears triggered by the news of the discovery forced the government to issue another statement in which it clarifies that it is still not determined it could cause an epidemic like the one two years ago.
More studies are needed to determine the specific risks, whether it has attacked humans or caused the disease, although it has the potential to do so, the official communication clarifies, according to which out of the 241 species of bats registered, five were positive for the disease.
First reported in Guinea in 2013, the disease spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone and by 2016 the World Health Organization declared the epidemic in those three West African countries, where it infected some 30,000 people, 11,300 of whom died, according to official statistics.