The world breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday as a two-year Ebola epidemic that killed 11,000 and triggered a global health alert was declared over, with Liberia the last country to get the all-clear.
The deadliest outbreak in the history of the feared tropical virus wrecked the economies and health systems of the three worst-hit west African nations after it emerged in southern Guinea in December 2013.
At its peak, it devastated Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with bodies piling up in the streets and overwhelmed hospitals recording hundreds of new cases a week.
“Today the World Health Organisation declares the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia and says all known chains of transmission have been stopped in west Africa,” the UN health agency announced on Liberian state radio.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned the region can expect sporadic cases in the coming year but added “we also expect the potential and frequency of those flare-ups to decrease over time”.
Rick Brennan, WHO chief of emergency risk management and humanitarian response, hailed an important milestone but told reporters in Geneva that “the job is still not done”, pointing out that there had already been 10 small flare-ups because of the persistence of the virus in survivors.