Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

An MSF health worker holds baby Nubia Souma, the last known Ebola patient in Guinea. Samuel Aranda/MSF

Guinea's Ebola outbreak is declared officially over

Forty-two days have passed since the last person with Ebola tested negative for the virus.

THE WORLD HEALTH Organisation has declared the Ebola outbreak in Guinea officially over.

In a statement this morning, the global body confirmed that 42 days had passed since the last person with Ebola in the country tested negative for the virus for a second time.

Guinea will now enter a 90-day period of “heightened surveillance” to ensure any new cases are identified before being passed on to other people.

The original chain of Ebola which kicked off a devastating epidemic in west Africa last year, began in Gueckedou, Guinea in December 2013. The virus then spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone. Land and air travel brought it further afield, with seven different countries affected.

The epidemic – the worst ever since the haemorrhagic fever first surfaced in 1976 – left 11,300 people dead. Almost 29,000 cases of the disease were reported.

“This is the first time that all three countries – Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – have stopped the original chains of transmission that were responsible for starting this devastating outbreak two years ago,” Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa explained today.

The first victim – or patient zero – was a two-year-old toddler in southern Guinea. The virus remains localised until February 2014, when a careworker in a neighbouring province dies. By 8 August 2014, a public health emergency was declared.

Countries have to remain vigilant to Ebola as today’s announcement is far from the last of the disease. Between March and November this year, there have been some small outbreaks, or flares, of Ebola spotted. These appear to have been due to the re-emergence of a persistent virus from the survivor population.

According to WHO:

Among the challenges survivors have faced is that after recovering from Ebola virus disease and clearing the virus from their bloodstream, the virus may persist in the semen of some male survivors for as long as 9-12 months.

“The coming months will be absolutely critical,” says Dr Bruce Aylward, special representative of the director-general for the Ebola response. “This is the period when the countries need to be sure that they are fully prepared to prevent, detect and respond to any new cases.

“The time-limited persistence of virus in survivors which may give rise to new Ebola flares in 2016 makes it imperative that partners continue to support these countries. WHO will maintain surveillance and outbreak response teams in the three countries through 2016.”

More: This beautiful shot is our image of the day

Read: Something bizarre is happening to Ebola survivors that doctors are struggling to explain

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
5 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brendan
    Favourite Brendan
    Report
    Dec 29th 2015, 11:07 AM

    Massive headline news for weeks, sky news flat out and front of the papers then one day just completely forgot about and not a word about it, does anyone else not find this abit strange?

    38
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Kevin Gill
    Favourite Kevin Gill
    Report
    Dec 29th 2015, 11:44 AM

    Not really, it was only making headlines when it was in major cities and had the potential to spread to the west. Then it infected the western doctors and nurses. Then it retreated to the rural areas again and the doomsday scenario lost its impact.
    Sure the initial outbreak was ignored till it got to big to hide.
    No mention of the lack of doctors in Liberia and Guinea now, no major international charities recruiting doctors to replace the ones that died.
    This outbreak has left so much pain and legacy issues that we will never hear about in mainstream media.
    The infective phase is over but the recover hasn’t begun.o

    8
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ben Connolly
    Favourite Ben Connolly
    Report
    Dec 29th 2015, 10:47 AM

    They should send Enda and his cronies over for a weeks holiday just to make sure

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Karabekian Rabo
    Favourite Karabekian Rabo
    Report
    Dec 29th 2015, 12:36 PM

    Great comment.. Well done..

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute KM TON
    Favourite KM TON
    Report
    Dec 29th 2015, 10:47 AM

    Well that’s a relief……more turkey anyone?

    3
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds