Ebola epidemic officially declared over

THE world has breathed a sigh of relief as the two-year Ebola epidemic that killed 11 000 people and triggered a global health alert was declared over, with Liberia the last country to get the all clear.

AFP, 15 January 2016

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. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia, saying all known chains of transmission have been stopped in West Africa. UN chief Ban Ki-moon has warned the region can expect sporadic cases in the coming year.

He said the end of Ebola transmission in West Africa is testament to what can be achieved when multilateralism works as it should, bringing the international community to work alongside national governments in caring for their people. The WHO came under fire for its sluggish response to the epidemic, which local healthcare systems were woefully underequipped to handle. More than 500 healthcare workers died in three West African countries at the height of the outbreak.

While Cuba sent doctors, Western governments offered little until foreign aid workers started falling ill and returning home for treatment, sparking fears of a global pandemic. The concerns inched higher when three cases of infections came to light outside Africa - two in the US and one in Spain. The World Bank estimates the economic damage of the outbreak, which devastated the mining, agriculture and tourism industries in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, at $2.2bn over 2014-15. On the health front, many painful lessons have been learnt. An overhaul of the WHO's epidemic response guidelines means the deployment of medical staff, virus-blocking suits, medicines and other material is likely to be much faster next time.