The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced on Thursday, Sept. 3, that Liberia is now free of the Ebola virus for the second time around. The western African country has been freed of viral transmission among humans as it has been 42 days since the second negative diagnostic test results for the last laboratory-confirmed case have been released.
Forty-two days is the common duration with which health officials can declare that a nation is free of the Ebola virus. This number is double the 21-day incubation period of the virus, which is defined as the time between the acquisition of the virus and the manifestations of the clinical signs and symptoms.
The UN organization commends the efforts of Liberia's officials and partners to efficiently respond to the outbreaks and for showing intense vigilance and swift action, which are the keys to the nation's ability to combat the disease.
After the announcement made by the UN organization, Liberia will now start to be under heightened surveillance for another 90 days. Liberia has reached this stage in the past when the country was first declared Ebola-free in May 9, 2015; however, on June 29, 2015, the results of the routine post-mortem procedure performed on a teenager, who died on June 28, 2015, tested positive for the virus. Soon after the confirmation of the case, the authorities have ordered the dispatch of a special team to conduct a comprehensive investigation.
For the second outbreak, a total of six cases emerged, with two fatalities recorded. No health care workers were said to have been affected. Through the management of the country's government, an efficient chain of actions were implemented to minimize the affectations of the outbreak. Aside from the government officials, the members of the communities also contributed by participating in the contact tracing measures initiated by the authorities. Aside from the local and national personnel, international partners also extended support by providing technical help, human work force, food and other supplies.
Although health officials are typically guided by the two 21-day incubation period to declare that a country is Ebola-free, experts still iterate that the danger does not end there, especially because neighboring countries such as Sierra Leone and Guinea are still stricken by the disease.
"As long as there is one person with Ebola in our region Ebola is still a threat," says Francis Karpeh from the Ebola management team of Liberia. The Ministry of Health will persist in monitoring the borders of the nation and strengthening the health care delivery system to ensure that Liberians are provided with utmost safety.
Photo: CDC Global | Flickr
