Liberia and Sierra Leone, two of the countries worst affected by the Ebola outbreak, are now virus-free according to the World Health Organisation.
On 7 November, Sierra Leone had gone 42 days without any new cases of Ebola, allowing the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare the country free of the virus. It is an important milestone for the West African country, as the country has recorded 14,089 cases of the disease since December 2013, almost half of the total that were reported to have caused the outbreak (28,571).
Liberia and Sierra Leone, two of the countries worst affected by the Ebola outbreak, are now virus-free according to the World Health Organisation.
On 7 November, Sierra Leone had gone 42 days without any new cases of Ebola, allowing the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare the country free of the virus. It is an important milestone for the West African country, as the country has recorded 14,089 cases of the disease since December 2013, almost half of the total that were reported to have caused the outbreak (28,571).
The announcement that Sierra Leone is now virus-free, will, therefore, be met with a mixture of caution and celebration. However, the news is less positive in neighbouring Guinea, where the virus continues to infect people, with 382 people currently under strict quarantine. Yet, it appears that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that the epidemic is nearing its conclusion.
The last 19 months have been tough on Sierra Leone, after the first signs of an outbreak were recorded in late March 2014 in the region of Kailahun. According to scientists that have studied the history of this particular epidemic, the first person to introduce the virus to Sierra Leone was a woman who went to a funeral in Guinea and was consequently infected.
Ebola image via Shutterstock.
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