“WHO commends Liberia’s government and people on their effective response to this recent re-emergence of Ebola”, said Dr. Alex Gasasira, the World Health Organization representative in Liberia. Survivors are among the most valuable workers against Ebola, because they are thought to have some immunity to the virus, but in many places they have been ostracized from their communities.
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“For two years, the people and governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have been fighting the worst Ebola outbreak in history, which has infected more than 28,600 people and has claimed the lives of 11,300 people”.
No new case of Ebola infection has been detected in Liberia for at least 42 days since the last confirmed case, according to the World Health Organization.
Liberia was the last country previously to be declared Ebola-free.
Tests on a person who died in Sierra Leone tested positive for the virus.
This is the first time since the beginning of the outbreak in 2014 that Africa’s three hardest-hit countries are all Ebola-free at the same time. Forty-two days later (twice the 21-day incubation cycle of Ebola), the patients remain disease free, meaning Liberia can finally be declared free of human-to-human transmission for the third time. The best protection against outbreaks is to continue strong surveillance and maintain response systems. But the global health organization cautioned that Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone remain at high risk for additional small outbreaks of the disease and must remain vigilant.
Although the Ebola outbreak has been officially declared over, it’s important to remember that the toll the virus has taken on the population of these countries is not. “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 pronouncement today is a joy but does not call for celebration because we may experience another outbreak”, she said.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon also warned that the region can expect sporadic cases in the coming year but that “we also expect the potential and frequency of those flare-ups to decrease over time”.
The country had suffered the world’s deadliest outbreak over the past two years, as survivors can carry the virus for many months and could pass it on.
Sierra Leone declared the end of Ebola transmission in November 2015. But after receiving necessary care, both recovered and were released from the ETU on December 3rd, as more than 165 contacts were identified and closely monitored but no new infections were detected.
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Brennan acknowledged the WHO’s initial inertia but said the organisation had “done a lot of soul-searching”, pointing to a “major reform” it is undergoing.
