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Ebola
epidemic ended in West Africa but flare ups possible: WHO
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[January 14, 2016]
GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health
Organisation on Thursday announced an end to the latest flare-up of the
Ebola virus in Liberia, a milestone that marks the first time since the
epidemic began in 2013 that there have been no known cases of the
disease in West Africa.
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 It said, however, that was too soon to declare an end to the
epidemic that killed more than 11,300 people out of 28,600 cases.
More flare ups are expected because the virus can persist in
survivors for up to a year and be transmitted through sex and
perhaps other means.
"All known chains of transmission have been stopped in West Africa,"
the WHO said in a statement.
The news was a potential turning point in the fight against a
disease that began in the forests of eastern Guinea in December
2013, spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, and at its height in
October 2014 sparked global fear about the disease.
There were cases in seven other countries including Nigeria, the
United States and Spain, though almost all deaths were in the three
West African states.
Governments and international health organizations joined local
health workers to combat the disease and new cases dwindled due to
public health campaigns, an effort to trace and isolate potential
sufferers and the safe treatment and burial of patients and victims.
Thursday's declaration comes because it is 42 days since Liberia's
last Ebola patient tested negative. The country had previously
declared itself virus-free in May and September of 2015 but each
time a fresh cluster of cases appeared.
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"We are now at a critical period in the Ebola epidemic as we move
from managing cases and patients to managing the residual risk of
new infections," says Bruce Aylward, WHO's Special Representative
for the Ebola Response.
"We still anticipate more flare-ups and must be prepared for them."
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, Writing by Edward McAllister;
Editing by Jermey Gaunt)
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