New Ebola Cases Arise In Sierra Leone

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which killed more than 11,300 people over the past two years, officially ended Thursday, according to the World Health Organization.

Of the 28,637 people infected by Ebola in the more than two years since the outbreak started, 4,767 were children.

“While this is an important milestone and a very important step forward, we have to say that the job is still not done”, said Rick Brennan, WHO director of emergency risk assessment and humanitarian response, at a news conference in Geneva.

It pressed further that World Health Organization and partners are working with the Governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to help ensure that survivors have access to medical and psychosocial care and screening for persistent virus, as well as counseling and education to help them reintegrate into family and community life, reduce stigma and minimize the risk of Ebola virus transmission.

For a country to be considered to be free of the Ebola virus, it has to go through at least 42 days, or two consecutive 21-day incubation periods, without recording new cases of infection since the last one that tested negative twice. All of the more than 165 contacts were identified and closely monitored, but no new infections were detected.

On Wednesday, a report from a group of global health experts convened in the wake of the crisis warned that infectious diseases represent a threat matched only by wars and natural disasters when it comes to endangering life and disrupting societies.

The country had previously declared itself virus-free in May and September of 2015, but each time a fresh cluster of cases appeared.

Read the IRC statement, which explains what needs to be done to prevent another outbreak and outlines the challenges yet ahead. It says a global investment of £3 billion each year – or 40p a person – would go a long way to reducing the threat posed by infectious diseases.

Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone “remain at high risk of additional small outbreaks of Ebola”, it said. Evidence shows that the virus can persist in some survivors even after full recovery.

At its peak, it devastated Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with bodies piling up in the streets and overwhelmed hospitals recording hundreds of new cases a week. Although transmission has been halted, the virus can remain in survivors and be re-transmitted.

Health specialists cautioned against complacency, saying the world was still underprepared for any future outbreaks of the disease.