Ebola is no more, says WHO
After a deadly chain of infections which killed more than 11,000 people and infected about 29,000 others across six countries, the World Health Organisation on Thursday declared the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease over.
The declaration comes two years after the first case was reported in Guinea and cases of re-emergence in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, the WHO Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan, said the outbreak, which had international dimensions, had a crushing impact on health care management, national economies and international travel. She added that more than 950 cases were reported every week at the peak of the outbreak.
Chan warned of new transmissions through survivors who still have residue of the virus in their system. She, however, announced that the world was on the verge of having the first safe and effective Ebola vaccine.
She said, “We have made tremendous strides in defeating the largest, longest and most complex Ebola outbreak in history. At the peak of the outbreak, 15 months ago, more than 950 new cases were being reported every week. We have now gone more than six weeks with no new cases.
“However, as these countries broke the original chains of transmission, a new residual risk emerged. Evidence shows that the virus can persist in some survivors even after full recovery. Since March of last year, the WHO has documented 10 flare-ups of infection that were not part of the original outbreak.
“These very small incidents followed the reintroduction of the virus persisting in survivors. The good news is that countries immediately and rapidly stopped each of these flares. Equally reassuring, research shows that casual contact with survivors poses no risk to their families.”