One person reportedly died of Ebola in Sierra Leone, hours after the World Health Organisation declared West Africa free of the disease, CNN reported. The patient became ill in a town near the country's border with Guinea, according to a spokesman at an Ebola response centre. Health officials are looking for people who may have been in contact with the patient.

On Thursday, WHO had declared the West African region Ebola-free after no new cases were reported in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea – the worst-affected countries – for 42 days. However, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had warned against the possibility of flare-ups of the virus. Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free on November 7. The disease has claimed as many as 11,315 lives since December 2013.