Residents of Nigeria and Senegal can breathe a sigh of relief now that both countries are free of Ebola. After six weeks with no new cases, the World Health Organization declared the two countries free of the virus.
WHO representative Rui Gama Vaz said in a news conference:
This is a spectacular success story … It shows that Ebola can be contained but we must be clear that we have only won a battle, the war will only end when West Africa is also declared free of Ebola.
The news comes after two nurses were infected in the U.S. and over 4,500 have been killed by the virus in West Africa, mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
European Union foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg to address the spread of the disease and discuss ways they can strengthen their response. In the U.S., the 43 people who were being closely monitored by health officials after being in contact with Thomas Eric Duncan had been given the clear after showing no symptoms of the virus.
Officials are praising Nigeria for their response to the disease. The outbreak in that particular country began when American-Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, was diagnosed with the virus in July.
Source: BBC Africa