The World Health Organisation
(WHO) has declared West Africa Ebola-free, stating that transmission of the
virus has been stopped in West Africa.
The announcement was made in
Geneva, Switzerland 42 days after the last case was confirmed in Liberia.
Sierra Leone was declared free of Ebola transmission on November 7 and Guinea
on December 29.
WHO, however, warned that
there was still a risk that the hemorrhagic fever could flare up as the virus
can persist for up to 12 months in the semen of male survivors.
WHO Director-General,
Margaret Chan, said, “More than 11,300 people have died since the outbreak in
December 2013 in West Africa, while 28,500 have been infected.
“Detecting and breaking every
chain of transmission has been a monumental achievement.”
Ebola has a fatality rate of
up to 90 per cent if left untreated.
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