Liberia declared free of Ebola after 42 days with no new infections

After 10,564 cases of Ebola and 4,176 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday declared Liberia free of the disease.

Liberia had been one of three West African countries, including Guinea and Sierra Leone, that served collectively as ground zero for the 15-month Ebola epidemic.

The nation is now the first of the three to be declared Ebola-free.

“Although we may see a great improvement in combating the pandemic, the global community, however, must understand that the fight against Ebola is not yet over,” Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, chairperson of the African Union Commission, said in a statement on Saturday. “As such, strengthening healthcare systems and surveillance systems should continuously remain at the core of responding to the disease until the African continent is free of Ebola.”

The WHO declared Liberia eradicated the disease following 42 days with no recorded cases — that’s twice as long as the maximum incubation period. Thousands of citizens including nearly 200 Liberian healthcare workers died after contracting the disease.

Raggamuffin wrote:Good, although that's not very long to be sure.

Ben_Reilly wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:Good, although that's not very long to be sure.

But as the article says, the maximum incubation period is 21 days, so twice that with no infections means it's likely gone.