AFRICA/LIBERIA - Liberia was declared free from Ebola, but MSF warns that the outbreak is not yet over

Monday, 11 May 2015

Monrovia (Agenzia Fides) - Liberia was declared free from Ebola by the government and the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday, May 9, 2015 after 42 days without a new case of the virus. However, MSF warns that, with new cases of Ebola still being recorded in neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone, the outbreak is not yet over.
"The Liberian government and the Liberian people have worked hard to help us achieve 42 days of zero Ebola cases, but the hard work could be undone in an instant", said MSF’s Head of Mission in Liberia. Nearly 200 Liberians health workers died after contracting the virus, and the epidemic decimated the already fragile health system. MSF is helping to after people’s health needs in Liberia, post-Ebola, by running a pediatric inpatient clinic in Monrovia. It is also working with the Liberian Ministry of Health to carry out a measles vaccination campaign, which is currently underway across three districts in the capital.
Liberia is one of the countries that has been hardest hit by the epidemic. The cases registered were 10,564 and 4,716 deaths. The peak of the outbreak occurred between August and October 2014, when MSF opened what became the world’s largest Ebola management center, ELWA 3 in Monrovia, with a total capacity of 400 beds. In the country, the NGO treated 1,663 confirmed cases. In addition, 9,470 people were admitted to its Ebola management centers and treated 5,170 patients confirmed with Ebola, and 2,553 survived. 14 MSF staff also lost their lives to Ebola. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 11/05/2015)


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