Ebola outbreak update: WHO declares Liberia Ebola-free once again

• comments
• 
• 

Liberia is once again free from Ebola for the second time this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Thursday.

Liberia, one of the three West African nations affected by Ebola, has been declared free from the illness a second time. CNN reports that it was initially declared Ebola-free on May 9 until the health report of the death of a Liberian teen tested positive for the virus.

There were a total of six confirmed Ebola cases in Liberia from June to July of ths year, with two people dead including the teen. Since the incident, 42 days have passed since any infection was reported prompting the WHO to declare the country once again free from Ebola.

"Forty-two days have passed since the second negative test on 22 July 2015 of the last laboratory-confirmed case. Liberia now enters a 90-day period of heightened surveillance," WHO said in a statement published in their website. "Liberia's ability to effectively respond to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease is due to intensified vigilance and rapid response by the government and multiple partners. Transmission had been declared over previously on 9 May 2015, but the disease reemerged on 29 June and six additional cases were identified."

According to the statement, the new outbreak was prevented by the swift actions lead by the country's government authorities with the participation of the members of the community. International supporters provided technical assistance by provision of food, supplies and equipment. The statement closed with the international organization congratulating the Liberian government for its effective response. It will continue to provide support in the 90 days of surveillance starting Sept. 3.

According to the report by Reuters, the resurfacing of Ebola in Liberia may have spread through sexual intercourse as the virus can still be present in the semen after the 21-day incubation period.

The neighboring countries Guinea and Sierra Leone are still struggling to contain the disease. NBC News reports that two new cases have been reported in Guinea and one in Sierra Leone from a curious death of a woman who was only found positive for Ebola after she had died.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of Sept. 1 there have been 11,305 deaths in West Africa, with Liberia having the most number of deaths at more than 4,800 casualties, followed by Sierra Leone with nearly 4,000 deaths and Guine with more than 2,500 since the start of the Ebola outbreak a year ago.