Liberia to be declared Ebola-free, ending world outbreak

 
Liberia to be declared Ebola free by World Health Organization (WHO), effectively putting an end to the world's worst outbreak of the disease

The "end of active transmission" will be declared, after 42 days without a new case in Liberia.
It joins Guinea and Sierra Leone, which earned the status last year.

However, UN chief Ban Ki-moon has warned that West Africa may see flare-ups of the virus. It has killed more than 11,000 people since December 2013.

• 4,809 Liberia
  
• 3,955 Sierra Leone
  
• 2,536 Guinea
  
• 8 Nigeria
  

Source: WHO

 

But we also expect the potential and frequency of those flare-ups to decrease over time " he added.


Meanwhile, WHO chief Margaret Chan said the virus could persist in some Ebola survivors even after their full recovery.




 


"By the end of this year, we expect that all survivors will have cleared the virus from their bodies," Ms Chan was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

She also described the next three months as "the most critical" for the three West African nations.