Liberia declared Ebola-free, but outbreak continues over border

Liberia was declared free from Ebola on Saturday after 42 days without a new case, the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said, but it urged vigilance until the worst-ever recorded outbreak of the virus was extinguished in neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone. Many of the deaths caused by Ebola have been in Liberia, where the outbreak peaked between August and October, with hundreds of cases a week, sparking international alarm. Helped by the visible U.S. military presence, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s government launched a national awareness campaign to stem the infectious disease, which is spread by physical contact with sick people.

We can’t take our foot off the gas until all three countries record 42 days with no cases.

Mariateresa Cacciapuoti, MSF’s head of mission in Liberia

MSF said that Liberia’s completion of the WHO’s benchmark for the end of an Ebola epidemic - 42 days without a new case, marking twice the maximum incubation period of the virus - should not lead to complacency. The U.N. Special Envoy on Ebola, David Nabarro, said this week that Liberian authorities had pledged to maintain heightened surveillance for at least a year after being declared Ebola-free on Saturday. Nabarro suggested that, even though fewer than 20 new cases were reported in Guinea and Sierra Leone last week, it could take months to get to zero.

Health ebola