Yahoo – AFP,
Zoom Dosso, 3 Sep 2015
Liberia was
long the hardest hit in the west African Ebola outbreak that began in
December
2013 and claimed more than 11,000 lives (AFP Photo/Evan Schneider)
|
Monrovia
(AFP) - The World Health Organization said on Thursday that Ebola-ravaged
Liberia was once again free of the deadly virus, prompting muted celebrations
in the capital Monrovia.
The west
African nation, where thousands died at the height of the epidemic last year,
has already been declared Ebola-free once before, in May, only to see the fever
resurface six weeks later.
"WHO
declares Liberia free of Ebola virus transmission in the human
population," the UN health agency said in a statement.
The WHO
previously declared Liberia
Ebola-free in May only to see the deadly
virus
resurface six weeks later (AFP
Photo/Dominique Faget)
|
"Liberia's
ability to effectively respond to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease is due to
intensified vigilance and rapid response by the government and multiple
partners," WHO said.
Liberia was
long the hardest hit in the west African Ebola outbreak that began in December
2013 and which infected more than 28,000 people and claimed more than 11,000
lives mainly in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
More than
10,500 of those infections and 4,800 of the deaths occurred in Liberia.
Radio and
television lunchtime bulletins carrying the development were greeted with muted
celebration in Monrovia, a chaotic city of a million people where bodies piled
up the streets at the outbreak's peak from August to December.
'Happy, and worried'
"I am
happy, very happy to hear that pronouncement by the WHO but this is not the
first time. So I am happy -- and worried," said motorist Mary Grants, 56.
"I am
worried because the experts told us that there will always be some
re-occurrence of this virus, though it may not be like the first."
Ebola is
spread among humans via the bodily fluids of recently deceased victims and
carriers showing symptoms, including vomiting, diarrhoea and -- in the worst
cases -- massive internal and external bleeding.
A country
is considered free of human-to-human transmission once two 21-day incubation
periods have passed since the last known case tested negative for a second
time.
But experts
warn that even after 42 days the danger is not over, considering that some
Ebola cases are still surfacing in neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone.
The Ebola
virus has been found lingering in the semen of male survivors many months after
they test negative.
Francis
Karteh, of Liberia's Ebola management department, warned that while the
Ebola-free announcement was a cause for celebration, complacency could not be
allowed to creep in and the fight against the virus was "not yet
over".
"As
long as there is one person with Ebola in our region Ebola is still a
threat," he told AFP.
"The
Ministry of Health and its partners will continue monitoring Liberia's borders
and rebuilding the healthcare system to assure that Liberians remain
safe."
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