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Ebola

Guinea – where worst Ebola outbreak began – declared free of virus

Katharine Lackey
USA TODAY
A health worker is seen at the Ebola treatment center run by the French Red Cross in Macenta, Guinea, on Nov. 20, 2014.

The World Health Organization declared Guinea Ebola-free on Tuesday, an important milestone for the West African nation where the worst outbreak of the deadly virus began two years ago.

More than 2,500 people have died from Ebola in Guinea since late December 2013. The virus later spread to neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia. Overall, more than 28,000 people were infected and 11,300 died from the disease in West Africa.

A country is declared Ebola-free after 42 days — double the 21-day incubation period for the virus — have passed since the last confirmed case. Guinea now enters a 90-day period of "heightened surveillance" to help identify any new cases quickly, the WHO said in a statement.

Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free Nov. 7. Liberia is currently toward the end of a new 42-day countdown after being twice declared free of the virus earlier this year. If no new cases develop in the next few weeks, the country could be declared Ebola-free in mid-January.

Ebola reappears in Liberia after country is twice declared disease-free

“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,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said in a statement Tuesday. “I commend the governments, communities and partners for their determination in confronting this epidemic.

"We need to stay vigilant to ensure that we rapidly stop any new flares that may come up in 2016," he added.

The more than 17,000 survivors of Ebola face ongoing health issues as well as stigma in their communities, WHO said. In addition, the virus has been shown to last in the semen of some male survivors for as long as a year. Ebola is spread through contact with infected body fluids and is marked by fever and severe internal bleeding.

Male Ebola survivors may be able to spread virus through sex for 9 months or more

“The coming months will be absolutely critical,” Bruce Aylward, special representative of the WHO director-general for the Ebola response, said in a statement. “This is the period when the countries need to be sure that they are fully prepared to prevent, detect and respond to any new cases."

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