Liberia releases last known Ebola patient from care

Liberia discharged its last confirmed Ebola patient on Thursday, as it reported for the first time in nine months it had gone a full week without any new infections. Beatrice Yordoldo left the Chinese-built Ebola treatment unit (ETU) in the Paynesville suburb of the capital Monrovia to cheers from healthcare workers, government officials and aid workers. Liberia has reported no new Ebola cases in 13 days, but can be deemed Ebola-free only after 42 days have passed — double the normal incubation period for the virus. Yardolo’s release brings Liberia hope after about a year of battling the deadly Ebola virus, which killed more than 4,100 people in this West African country.

I am very grateful to the Chinese treatment center and the Almighty God that I lived to see this day. I did not know I would make it.

Beatrice Yardolo

The outlook was more worrying in Guinea and Sierra Leone, which jointly reported 132 new confirmed cases last week. Massive efforts and funds have been poured into the fight to rid the three west African countries of the Ebola scourge, and a main focus has been to ensure that all those infected are isolated and cared for in treatment centers. Ensuring safe burials of the highly contagious bodies has also been a priority. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization will start large-scale testing of an experimental Ebola vaccine in Guinea on Saturday to see how effective it might be in preventing future outbreaks of the deadly virus.

If a vaccine is found effective, it will be the first preventive tool against Ebola in history.

WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan

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