Sierra Leone Celebrates Release of Last Known Ebola Patient

“This is a very important step towards ending the epidemic here in Sierra Leone”, Andres Nordstrom, who heads the country’s WHO operations, tells NPR.

The count down to zero officially begins tomorrow, Tuesday 25th August 2015, if there are no new cases after 42 days Sierra Leone will join Liberia as the second nation in the Mano River Union to be declared ebola free.

After the biggest Ebola outbreak in history, medical professionals are still trying to figure out what kind of after-effects survivors will experience, the extent of the problems some may suffer and how to control these symptoms. It’s a benchmark that Liberia reached in May only to then experience a brief reappearance of cases.

Sankoh said she would “from now on be the number one messenger to sensitize people that although Ebola is on the run, vigilance should be the watchword”.

DAKAR, SENEGAL-Lingering well being issues afflicting most of the roughly 13,000 Ebola survivors have galvanized global and native well being officers to learn how widespread the illnesses are, and easy methods to treatment them.

Publish-recovery issues haven’t been confined to West African survivors, whose well being won’t have been robust to start with contemplating the poor state of well being care in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea – the three impoverished nations most affected by Ebola – even earlier than the epidemic.

The disease can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea, kidney and liver failure, and internal and external bleeding. More than 4,000 Sierra Leoneans have died from the virus.

She said many people who survive an Ebola infection experience joint pain, vision and hearing problems, as well as emotional problems.

Nordstrom says he learned of a new confirmed Ebola case in Guinea over the weekend.

The WHO also believes the numbers of cases and deaths have been vastly underestimated due to families hiding the sickness and burying relatives before they can be tested.

Sierra Leone said Saturday, August 22, that gold exports had plunged by two-thirds and diamond exports almost halved in the first half of 2015.

Only about 40 percent of those infected have survived Ebola, according to WHO estimates.

The President further said that Ms. Sankoh’s discharge marked the beginning of the end of the ebola virus in the country but warned against complacency.