Liberia has confirmed its first new Ebola case in more than a month in a setback to hopes of being officially declared free of the deadly disease.
The country was the hardest hit at the peak of the west African epidemic and has seen more than 4000 deaths in all.
However, it was at an advanced stage in its recovery and expecting to be declared Ebola-free by mid-April before the latest case in the capital Monrovia.
"A woman has been confirmed as an Ebola patient ... This is a new case after we have gone more than 27 days without a single case," government spokesman Lewis Brown said on Saturday.
The World Health Organization announced earlier this month no new case of the virus had been registered in Liberia since February 19.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
It was not immediately clear where the new patient became infected, as all contacts associated with the last known chain of transmission completed the 21-day observation period during which symptoms are exhibited.
A source close to the case speaking on condition of anonymity, said the woman was the wife of a cured patient.
According to experts, a patient can still transmit the virus through sex days after being cured.
Surveillance and early warning systems had detected 125 suspected cases in the week to March 15 but none tested positive.
Since the outbreak began in December 2013, 24,753 people in nine countries have been infected with the virus, and 10,236 of them have died.
All but 15 of those deaths have occurred in Liberia and its neighbours, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
But the tide seemed to have turned in Liberia, which six months ago was reporting more than 300 new cases a week and which still counts the most deaths in the outbreak with 4,283.
The country discharged its last confirmed Ebola patient on March 5.
