WHO declares West Africa Ebola free, urges “strong vigilance”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced the end of the latest outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in Liberia.
WHO in a statement, Thursday, says the job is not over and that strong surveillance and response systems are needed in the following months to combat expected flare-ups.
In May 2015, Liberia was first declared free of the viral disease but “the virus was re-introduced twice since then, with the latest flare-up in November.
See extract from the statement below
“WHO commends Liberia’s government and people on their effective response to this recent re-emergence of Ebola,” says Dr Alex Gasasira, WHO Representative in Liberia. “The rapid cessation of the flare-up is a concrete demonstration of the government’s strengthened capacity to manage disease outbreaks. WHO will continue to support Liberia in its effort to prevent, detect and respond to suspected cases.”
This date marks the first time since the start of the epidemic 2 years ago that all 3 of the hardest-hit countries—Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone—have reported 0 cases for at least 42 days. Sierra Leone was declared free of Ebola transmission on 7 November 2015 and Guinea on 29 December.
“Detecting and breaking every chain of transmission has been a monumental achievement,” says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. “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.”
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