Ebola-ravaged West Africa is closer to ending the Ebola epidemic as Guinea is now Ebola-free, announced the World Health Organization (WHO). The epidemic killed over 2,500 people in Guinea but no new cases were reported in the country since mid-November.
The potentially fatal virus killed 11,315 people in West Africa with 2,536 from Guinea, 4,809 from Liberia and 3,955 from Sierra Leone. The epidemic, which started in December 2013, ravaged through these three nations for two years affecting a total of 28,637 people.
Guinea residents are expected to celebrate this announcement after the two-year rollercoaster epidemic infected people every now and then. In November, Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free. Health officials are waiting for Liberia to be declared Ebola-free but three new cases were reported in Nov. 22.
A country is declared Ebola-free when, after two 21-day incubation periods (42 days) after the recovery or death of the last patient, there are no reported new cases of the infection. Liberia is awaiting declaration since there were no new cases reported. It will reach its 42nd day of surveillance on Jan. 14, 2016.
The outbreak killed thousands of people leaving around 6,200 children orphaned in Guinea.
"Several of my family are dead. This situation has shown us how much we must fight for those who are survivors," Fanta Oulen Camara, who works for Medecins Sans Frontieres Belgium (Doctors Without Borders), said.
Camara fell ill with the virus in March 2014 and was fortunate to have survived the disease. "After I got better, the hardest thing was to make people welcome me. Most people that normally supported me abandoned me. Even the school where I was an instructor dropped me. It was very hard," she added.
Ebola's First Case Was Reported In Guinea
In Dec. 26, 2013, a 2-year-old baby boy in the remote village of Meliandou, Guinea, became ill with a rare disease. He had fever, vomiting and black stool. After two days, he died and soon after, many people fell ill and died too. Case-finding by the World Health Organization dubbed the child as the first case of Ebola virus disease.
They found that the disease was deadly. All patients they were following died within just days and those who had close contact with these patients fell ill too. Those who have high-risk exposure like those taking care of the sick or prepared for a burial were infected too. Doctors and nurses were not spared from the disease as many of them also got sick and died.
Ebola Changed The Lives Of People In West Africa
The Ebola outbreak caused a big economic burden to most West African countries. It led to a huge social and economic impact on Guinea. Survivors are still living in fear of the stigma the disease caused and long-term effects linked with the virus.
Since the outbreak, most people in the nation have faith in hospitals and health care workers. In the past, they solely relied on traditional medicines and treatment options but when the outbreak got out of hand, they turned to health care professionals.
The stigma Ebola has caused may change traditions in the country. Well-known for hospitality and friendliness, West Africans gave up their most common practice: the handshake. They are still afraid of the virus since it can be transmitted though body contact. Most of the survivors lost their jobs and are now unable to find new work.
Though West Africa is looking forward to an Ebola-free New Year, with just Liberia waiting to be declared free from the virus, many survivors complain of long-term health effects caused by the fatal virus. An estimated 17,000 complain of body and joint pains, headaches and fatigue. Some 25 percent complain of changes in their vision, with some close to being blind.
