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Just when West Africa was declared free from the threat of Ebola virus, a 15-year-old boy lost his life to this disease in Liberia. The boy, Nathan Gbotoe, tested positive last week and died a week later in the hospital, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Since the news of the flare up in Liberia since July, this has been the first death that has been reported, said World Health Organization. In May, WHO declared Liberia free from the virus and then in September, it was considered officially disease ridden when no new cases were reported. However, Gbotoe's dead put a cloud of doubt on the area again. Nathan's father and brother are already getting treated for the disease and the other people who came in contact with the boy are also being monitored. More than 150 people are under close observation, said the Chief Medical Officer Frances Kateh to Reuters. More than 10 out of the two dozen health workers who were caring for Nathan are being teated as high-risk cases.

So far, Ebola has been responsible for killing 4,800 people in Liberia since its outbreak reported by WHO in March. "It is concerning, it has to be managed incredibly aggressively and professionally," WHO spokesman Dr Bruce Aylward said in a statement. Liberia country representative for the U.N. World Health Organization, Alex Gasasira said, "In some people who have recovered from Ebola virus disease the virus can persist in parts of the body the immune system cannot reach. Even though they are healthy it is possible for them to continue to shed the virus in certain body fluids." The source of the virus is still unknown and Liberia has requested for assistance of experts from CDC in USA, reported Time.