West Africa Is Finally Declared Ebola-Free – For Now

“Yesterday, as Liberia marked the end of Ebola transmission-following Guinea’s and Sierra Leone’s declarations on December 29 and November 7, 2015, respectively-these three nations can take pride in their perseverance and commitment to reach this critical milestone”. Health officials continue to closely monitor Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, which “remain at high risk of additional small outbreaks”, according to the WHO.

Dr. Alex Gasasira, a World Health Organization representative in Liberia, said in a statement: “WHO commends Liberia’s government and people on their effective response to this recent re-emergence of Ebola”. Any risk diminishes over time, as survivors’ immune systems clear out the virus.

Liberia experienced two such outbreaks after it was declared Ebola-free in May.

The news was a potential turning point in the fight against a disease that began in the forests of eastern Guinea in December 2013, spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, and at its height in October 2014 sparked global fear about the disease.

It is wonderful news that the WHO has finally declared the world’s deadliest Ebola outbreak over, but while we’re rejoicing, it’s important to remember that there are those, like the Ebola orphans, whose struggles are just beginning.

The epidemic dwarfed all previous outbreaks of the haemorrhagic fever, killing some 11,300 people and leaving numerous 17,000 survivors with lingering symptoms. A country is considered completely free of human-to-human transmission once two 21-day incubation periods have passed since the last known case tested negative for the second time. The WHO cautioned that the virus could re-emerge, as happened twice in flare-ups in Liberia after the country was first declared Ebola-free last May.

“We can now be rest assured that as long as we continuously contain Ebola whenever it erupts, that is going to change everything, in terms of healthcare and the economy”, he said. “A massive effort is underway to ensure robust prevention, surveillance and response capacity across all three countries by the end of March”, Aylward said. The disease wrought devastation to families, communities and the health and economic systems of all three countries.

But in a statement released in Geneva, Chan added that “our work is not done, and vigilance is needed to prevent new outbreaks”.

“I think there’s been general acknowledgement that World Health Organization and the global community were slow at the start of this outbreak and there is no question that the disease did get away from us all collectively, and in retrospect there are a number of things that we would have done better and sooner”, Brennan said Thursday.