It said, however, that it was too soon to declare an end to the epidemic that killed more than 11,300 people out of 28,600 cases. More flare ups are expected because the virus can persist in survivors for up to a year and be transmitted through sex and perhaps other means.
“All known chains of transmission have been
stopped in West Africa,” the WHO said in a statement, while also not ruling out
a potential flare up in the future.
Liberia recorded more than 10,700 cases and
4,800 deaths. It was twice declared Ebola-free in May 2015 and September 2015,
but each time a fresh cluster of cases appeared later.
The news was a potential turning point in the
fight against a disease that began in the forests of eastern Guinea in December
2013, spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, and at its height in October 2014
sparked global fear about the disease.
There were cases in seven other countries
including Nigeria, the United States and Spain, though almost all deaths were
in the three West African states.
Governments and international health
organisations joined local health workers to combat the disease and new cases
dwindled due to public health campaigns, an effort to trace and isolate
potential sufferers and the safe treatment and burial of patients and victims.
Thursday’s declaration comes because it is 42
days since Liberia’s last Ebola patient tested negative. The country had
previously declared itself virus-free in May and September of 2015 but each
time a fresh cluster of cases appeared.
“We are now at a critical period in the Ebola
epidemic as we move from managing cases and patients to managing the residual
risk of new infections,” says Bruce Aylward, WHO’s Special Representative for
the Ebola Response.
“We still anticipate more flare-ups and must
be prepared for them.”
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