The World Health Organization and Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health and Sanitation announced the end of the recent flare-up of Ebola in the West African country.

    The declaration came 42 days, comprising two 21-day incubation cycles of the virus, since the last confirmed Ebola patient who was a second case in the flare-up tested positive for a second time.

    Today marks another milestone in the country’s effort to defeat Ebola. WHO commends Sierra Leone’s government, partners and people on the effective and swift response to this latest outbreak. From nurses, vaccinators and social mobilizers to contact tracers, counselors and community leaders, Sierra Leoneans in affected districts mobilized quickly and their involvement and dedication was instrumental and impactful, WHO statement said.

    The rapid containment of the flare-up was also a real-time demonstration of the increased capacity at the national, district and community level to respond to Ebola outbreaks and other health emergencies and mitigate their impact. Investments made in rapid response teams, surveillance, lab diagnostics, risk communication, infection prevention and control measures and other programmes were put to the test and clearly paid off.

    WHO's representative in Sierra Leone, Dr. Anders Nordstrom, said that "while we mark today as a great achievement in the control of the outbreak, it is critical that we remain prepared to respond to possible flare-ups in the future." Nearly 4,000 people died before Sierra Leone was first declared free from transmission on Nov. 7. The West African outbreak of Ebola has killed more than 11,300 people, mostly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, since late 2013. The outbreak has already been declared over in Guinea and Liberia but flare-ups could still occur there too.

    However, WHO continues to stress that Sierra Leone, as well as Liberia and Guinea, are still at risk of Ebola flare-ups, largely due to virus persistence in some survivors, and must remain on high alert and ready to respond.

    WHO will continue to work with the Government of Sierra Leone and partners to build a more resilient health system that can prevent, detect and respond to future outbreaks and to revive and strengthen essential health services across the country.

Source : QNA