Liberia is Ebola-free, virus continues in neighboring nations

Liberia has been declared Ebola virus free by the World Health Organization and it came into effect after no new Ebola cases have been reported in the nation for about 42 days, which is twice the amount of time for maximum incubation period for this deadly disease.

WHO said in a statement that, “Interruption of transmission is a monumental achievement for a country that reported the highest number of deaths in the largest, longest, and most complex outbreak since Ebola first emerged in 1976.”

The Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has announced to the public on Saturday that the damage from the outbreak had been “a scar on the conscience of the world.” And she has also highlighted that for some of the survivors, “The pain and grief will take a generation to heal.”

The White House has also announced on Saturday how pleased it by the official end of this deadly outbreak and has called it “an important marker” and has congratulated the Liberians for being able to reach the point of eradicating it completely. Although the statement from the U.S. President Barack Obama’s office stressed that a lot more must be done.

The White House statement said, “While this milestone is important, the world must not forget that the Ebola outbreak still persists in neighboring Sierra Leone and Guinea. We must not let down our guard until the entire region reaches and stays at zero Ebola cases. And we must all work together to strengthen capacity around the world to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to outbreaks before they become epidemics.”

Guinea and Sierra Leone each has reported 9 cases of the fatal disease just last week.

The WHO has also made changes in its post-Ebola guidelines and has announced it too. They have urged formerly affected men and their sexual partners either to abstain from sex or practice safe sex for a minimum of 6 months which will give ample time for 2 semen tests which would be negative for the Ebola virus.