World Health Organisation declares Liberia free of Ebola

Graves of children who died from ebola at the village in Sierra Leone
Jeremy Selwyn
Jamie Bullen14 January 2016

The World Health Organisation has today declared Liberia free of Ebola, effectively ending the world’s worst outbreak of the disease.

The group said “all known chains of transmission” have been stopped in west Africa but "flare-ups" could still be expected over the next few months.

It comes 42 days after Liberia’s last confirmed patient tested negative for the disease.

Since December 2013, Ebola has claimed the lives of more than 11,000 people.

Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General, said: “So much was needed and so much was accomplished by national authorities, heroic health workers, civil society, local and international organizations and generous partners.

“But our work is not done and vigilance is necessary to prevent new outbreaks.”

The WHO said Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone was still at risk from Ebola outbreaks.

Dr Bruce Aylward, WHO’s special representative for the Ebola Response, said: “We are now at a critical period in the Ebola epidemic as we move from managing cases and patients to managing the residual risk of new infections.

“The risk of re-introduction of infection is diminishing as the virus gradually clears from the survivor population, but we still anticipate more flare-ups and must be prepared for them.

“A massive effort is underway to ensure robust prevention, surveillance and response capacity across all three countries by the end of March.”

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