Ebola gone from Guinea

Guinea was declared free of Ebola on Tuesday after more than 2,500 people died from the virus in the West African nation, leaving Liberia as the only country still awaiting a countdown for the end of the epidemic.

First time Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have stopped the original chains of transmission in the outbreak

Thomson Reuters Posted: Dec 29, 2015 10:46 AM EST | Last Updated: December 29, 2015

Medical workers present Noubia (C), the last known survivor to contract Ebola in Guinea, during her release from a Doctors Without Borders treatment centre in Conakry last month. (Cellou Binani/AFP/Getty)

Guinea was declared free ofEbola transmission on Tuesday after more than 2,500 people diedfrom the virus in the West African nation, leaving Liberia asthe only country still counting down the days until the end ofthe epidemic.

The announcement made at a ceremony in the capital comes 42days after the last Ebola patient tested negative for a secondtime. The country now enters a 90-day period of heightenedsurveillance, the U.N. World Health Organization said.

The world's worst Ebola outbreak began in Gueckedou, easternGuinea, in December 2013 before spreading to Liberia, SierraLeone and seven other countries. In all, more than 11,300 peopledied, almost all in the three worst-affected nations.

Despite Tuesday's milestone, people in the capital, Conakry,greeted the declaration with mixed emotions, given the deathsand the damage the virus did to the economy and the country'shealth and education sectors.

About 6,200 children have been left orphaned, said ReneMigliani, from Guinea's Ebola coordination centre.

"Never has an epidemic caused so much harm to Guinea asEbola. If the government and its foreign partners have succeededin vanquishing the disease we can only thank God," said localresident Mamady Traore.

Nevertheless, concern remains that new cases could re-emergeeven though all the original chains of person-to-persontransmission have been broken and there are currently no cases.

"The time-limited persistence of virus in survivors whichmay give rise to new Ebola flares in 2016 makes it imperative

that partners continue to support these countries," said BruceAylward, WHO special representative for Ebola response.

Fight for survivors

At its height, Ebola sparked fear around the world andgovernments and businesses took precautions. New cases have

dwindled due to successful public health campaigns and theintervention of national and international health workers.

Governments from as far afield as Cuba, France and theUnited States sent health workers and equipment to the threecountries in an attempt to get a grip on the disease.

Hundreds of health workers who treated Ebola sufferers werethemselves infected and died due to a lack of training andequipment to deal with a disease not previously seen in that part of West Africa.

"Several of my family are dead. This situation has shown ushow much we must fight for those who are survivors," Fanta OulenCamara, who works for Mdecins Sans Frontires Belgium (DoctorsWithout Borders), told Reuters.

"After I got better, the hardest thing was to make peoplewelcome me. Most people that normally supported me abandoned me.Even the school where I was an instructor dropped me. It wasvery hard," said Camara, 26, who works as part of the MSFBelgium psycho-social support team and fell ill in March 2014.

Ebola has orphaned about 6,200 children in Guinea, said ReneMigliani, an official at the national coordination centre forthe fight against Ebola.

There were more than 3,800 cases in Guinea out of more than28,600 cases globally, according to WHO. Almost all the casesand deaths were in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, whichofficially ended its epidemic in November.

Liberia has lost more than 4,800 people but could bedeclared virus-free on Jan. 14. The country was declared Ebolafree in May and September, but each time new cases emerged.

"This is the first time that all three countries Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have stopped the original chains of transmission that were responsible for starting this devastating outbreak two years ago," said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

Experts warn that vigilance is stillneeded.

With files from Associated Press

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC News

Corrections and clarifications|Submit a news tip|

External Links

End of Ebola transmission in Guinea, WHO

Ebola gone from Guinea

First time Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have stopped the original chains of transmission in the outbreak

Fight for survivors

Related Stories

External Links