ADVERTISEMENT

Guinea declared free of disease that killed over 2,500

Liberia has lost more than 4,800 people to the haemorrhagic fever, but if all goes well will be declared virus-free in January. The country was declared Ebola free in May and September, but each time new cases emerged.

Health workers in protective equipment handle a sample taken from the body of someone who is suspected to have died from Ebola virus, near Rokupa Hospital, Freetown October 6, 2014.  REUTERS/Christopher Black/WHO/Handout via Reuters

Guinea was declared free of Ebola on Tuesday after more than 2,500 people died from the virus in the West African nation, leaving Liberia as the only country still awaiting a countdown for the end of the epidemic.

People in the capital, Conakry, greeted the declaration by authorities and the U.N. World Health Organization with mixed emotions given the deaths and the damage the virus did to the economy and the country's health and education sectors.

"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), told Reuters.

"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," said Camara, 26, who fell ill in March 2014.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ebola has orphaned about 6,200 children in Guinea, said Rene Migliani, an official at the national coordination centre for the fight against Ebola.

There were more than 3,800 Ebola cases in Guinea out of more than 28,600 cases globally with 11,300 deaths, according to figures from the WHO. Almost all the cases and deaths were in Guinea and its neighbours Liberia and Sierra Leone.

A country is declared Ebola free 42 days after the recovery or death of the final patient and if there are no new infections.

Sierra Leone officially ended its epidemic in November.

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng

Recommended articles

Governor Idris plans to transform political thugs into employers of labour

Governor Idris plans to transform political thugs into employers of labour

Wike set to use ₦1.15trn to transform FCT, rural communities for better living

Wike set to use ₦1.15trn to transform FCT, rural communities for better living

16 victims kidnapped in Katsina rescued after 46 days in captivity

16 victims kidnapped in Katsina rescued after 46 days in captivity

You can go to prison for 7 years in Nigeria for using underage housemaids

You can go to prison for 7 years in Nigeria for using underage housemaids

Peter Obi explains why he joined Muslims to break fast in Abuja mosque

Peter Obi explains why he joined Muslims to break fast in Abuja mosque

Plateau commission demands justice for rape and murder of 9-year-old girl

Plateau commission demands justice for rape and murder of 9-year-old girl

Peter Obi breaking fast with Muslims in Abuja mosque gets Nigerians talking

Peter Obi breaking fast with Muslims in Abuja mosque gets Nigerians talking

Video of weird school competition shows young students licking one another's feet

Video of weird school competition shows young students licking one another's feet

UniCal records highest number of first class graduates in 49 years

UniCal records highest number of first class graduates in 49 years

Pulse Sports

Super Eagles Bright Osayi-Samuel punches pitch invader as violence erupts following Trabzonspor vs Fenerbahce

Super Eagles Bright Osayi-Samuel punches pitch invader as violence erupts following Trabzonspor vs Fenerbahce

Naija Stars Abroad: Moffi, Chukwueze battle Oshoala, Echegini for POTW

Naija Stars Abroad: Moffi, Chukwueze battle Oshoala, Echegini for POTW

Report: Super Eagles get new coach for Ghana and Mali clash

Report: Super Eagles get new coach for Ghana and Mali clash

Osimhen misses out on N17b payday after Napoli's UCL loss to Barcelona

Osimhen misses out on N17b payday after Napoli's UCL loss to Barcelona

‘Thank you’ - Osimhen’s girlfriend Stefanie Ladewig grateful for being the mother of his child

‘Thank you’ - Osimhen’s girlfriend Stefanie Ladewig grateful for being the mother of his child

4 reasons why Victor Osimhen should choose Arsenal over Chelsea, Manchester United and PSG

4 reasons why Victor Osimhen should choose Arsenal over Chelsea, Manchester United and PSG

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT