WHO Declares Liberia Ebola Free
Liberia has been declared free from Ebola after no new cases were reported for over a month, the World Health Organisation has said.
Peter Jan Graaf, the head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency, urged vigilence until the worst-ever recorded outbreak of the virus was extinguished in neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone.
No new cases were reported in 42 days - twice the maximum incubation period for the deadly disease.
"We're proud of what we collectively managed to do but we need to remain vigilant," he said. "The virus is not yet out of the region and as long as the virus is in the region we're still all of us potentially at risk."
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that Liberia's completion of the WHO's benchmark for the end of an Ebola epidemic should not lead to complacency.
"We can't take our foot off the gas until all three countries record 42 days with no cases," said Mariateresa Cacciapuoti, MSF's head of mission in Liberia.
She urged Liberia to step up cross-border surveillance to prevent Ebola slipping back into the country.
A total of 11,005 people have died from Ebola in the West African countries of Liberia, neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone since the outbreak began in December 2013, WHO reported.
At least 4,700 of those 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 US 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.
No new cases were reported in 42 days - twice the maximum incubation period for the deadly disease.
"We're proud of what we collectively managed to do but we need to remain vigilant," he said. "The virus is not yet out of the region and as long as the virus is in the region we're still all of us potentially at risk."
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that Liberia's completion of the WHO's benchmark for the end of an Ebola epidemic should not lead to complacency.
"We can't take our foot off the gas until all three countries record 42 days with no cases," said Mariateresa Cacciapuoti, MSF's head of mission in Liberia.
She urged Liberia to step up cross-border surveillance to prevent Ebola slipping back into the country.
A total of 11,005 people have died from Ebola in the West African countries of Liberia, neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone since the outbreak began in December 2013, WHO reported.
At least 4,700 of those 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 US 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.
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