Two new cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone crush hopes of virus' defeat

For three weeks, Sierra Leone did not see a single case of Ebola.

Confidence grew that the deadly virus had been finally defeated in the country, after a long battle that killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa. But officials on Monday announced that two new cases of Ebola had been recorded in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown.

Officials were so sure that the virus had been eradicated that all Ebola quarantine structures were closed in the city, a spokesman for the National Ebola Response Center (NERC) told Reuters. Concerns that the virus could spread are already high, since the two reported cases were in a "densely populated slum lacking adequate hygiene facilities," Reuters reports.

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Sierra Leone was one of the countries worst affected by the virus, accounting for about a third of those 11,000 deaths. While Liberia became Ebola-free in May, Guinea is also still struggling to shake off the disease.