[MONROVIA] - With almost 42 days without a
new case, Liberia breathes a little easier as it is being
declared Ebola-free on Saturday (May 9).
The World Health Organization (WHO) said no fewer than
11,005 people have died from Ebola in Liberia,
neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone since the outbreak
began in December 2013.
However, nearly half of those deaths have been in Liberia,
where the outbreak peaked between August and October,
with hundreds of cases a week, sparking international
alarm which resulted into United States sending in
hundreds of troops to help build treatment clinics in a
country founded by freed U.S. slaves.
But almost a year later, people celebrate with cautious
optimism.
"That does not mean that we should be complacent,
because what it comes down to is that we should still be
very serious in maintaining
precautionary measures, and that we should translate the
knowledge that was gained in Liberia in the fight against
Ebola to the neighbouring countries, so as to help them
attain the same virus-free status after 42 days," said
Zubin Cooper, a communications specialist from Monrovia.
More than 4,000 people died in Liberia, but for the twice
as many who survived, getting back to normal is an
ongoing battle.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine
studied the case of an American doctor who contracted
Ebola while he was working in West Africa, but found the
virus continued to live in his retina 10 weeks after it had
cleared from his blood.
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