Guinea declared free of Ebola after over 2500 deaths

The epidemic killed more than 11,000 and sickened more than 28,000 in 10 countries, according to the WHO. The latest declaration will leave Liberia as the only West African country still counting down the days until the end of the epidemic.

Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free in November. If no new cases develop in the next few weeks, the country could be declared Ebola-free in mid-January.

Ebola virusTHE World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that Guinea is now free from the transmission of Ebola, marking a milestone for the country where the original Ebola chain of transmission began two years ago leading to the largest epidemic in history.

The disease has had an enormous social and economic impact on Guinea, the BBC’s Ibrahima Diane in Conakry says.

“Lots of the medical professionals who assisted the country are back for the celebration, along with their local counterparts”, Kaba said.

He said that survivors and families of the victims will also take part in the ceremonies. But, many Guineans are grieving the many friends and relatives that they lost. But in November, the last known patient, an infant named Nubia whose infected mother died the day of her birth, was released from a clinic after overcoming the virus. “It was very hard”, said Camara, 26, who fell ill in March 2014.

In one piece of positive news, a three-week old girl whose mother died of the virus, is Guinea’s last survivor.

“The coming months will be absolutely critical”, Dr. Bruce Aylward, a member of the WHO’s Ebola response team, told BBC.

Guinea now enters into a 3-month period of “heightened surveillance” to contain any new instances of infections to ensure they do not spread.

Amid the jubilation and hope for a return to normality, experts have sounded a note of caution, as the virus has been shown to persist in the sperm and other body fluids of survivors significantly longer than previously thought.

He adds that efforts to support Guinea over the enhanced surveillance period will continue, and also beyond as the country rebuilds its health system in 2016.