Health authorities quarantined hundreds of people in northern Sierra Leone after a 16-year-old girl died of ebola in an apparent case of sexual transmission, the first confirmed death from the virus in the district for nearly six months.

Authorities in Sierra Leone said yesterday that another doctor there has tested positive for ebola, marking a setback for efforts to keep desperately needed health care workers safe in the West African country ravaged by the deadly virus.

Some residents ran from their homes in Sierra Leone to avoid being trapped during a three-day lockdown to contain the Ebola outbreak, a health worker said today.