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WHO declares Guinea free of Ebola virus

Tuesday, 29 December 2015 1:57 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 29 December 2015 1:57 PM ]

This file photo taken on November 28, 2015 shows medical workers presenting Noubia (C), the last known patient to contract Ebola in Guinea, during her release from a Doctors Without Borders treatment center in Conakry. (AFP photo)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the end of Ebola in Guinea where more than 2,500 people have died from the virus over the past two years.

On Tuesday, Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, in a statement commended the Guinean people and government for showing "extraordinary leadership in fighting the epidemic."

"I commend the governments, communities and partners for their determination in confronting this epidemic," media outlets quoted Moeti as saying, adding, "As we work towards building resilient health care systems, we need to stay vigilant to ensure that we rapidly stop any new flares that may come up in 2016."

The health organization also noted that the West African country would enter a 90-day period of heightened surveillance.

Meanwhile, people in the capital, Conakry, have greeted the announcement with mixed emotions given the damage the virus did to the country's health, education sectors and economy.

Fanta Oulen Camara, who works for Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), told Reuters that several of his relatives were infected and lost their lives.

"Several of my family are dead. This situation has shown us how much we must fight for those who are survivors," Camara said, adding, "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."

Rene Migliani, an official at the national coordination center for the fight against Ebola, has said that the epidemic has orphaned nearly 6,200 children across the African nation.

In December 2013, the world's worst outbreak of the disease began in Guinea before spreading to Liberia, Sierra Leone and seven other countries.

This file photo taken on November 21, 2014 shows health workers wearing protective suits assisting a patient suspected of having Ebola on their way to an Ebola treatment center in Patrice near Macenta. (AFP photo)

According to WHO, there were more than 3,800 cases in Guinea out of more than 28,600 cases globally.

More than 11,300 people died. Almost all the deaths occurred in the worst affected three West African nation.

Sierra Leone was officially declared free of the deadly Ebola in November.The latest declaration will leave Liberia as the only West African country still counting down the days until the end of the epidemic.

Bruce Aylward, WHO special representative for Ebola response, has warned against rise to new Ebola flares in 2016, saying, "The time-limited persistence of virus in survivors which may give rise to new Ebola flares in 2016 makes it imperative that partners continue to support these countries."

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