Sierra Leone declared free of Ebola
Sierra Leone has been declared Ebola free by the World Health Organization after two Ebola virus incubation cycles (42 days) have passed since the last person confirmed to have the disease had a second negative blood test.
Sierra Leone has been declared Ebola free by the World Health Organization because 42 days – or two Ebola virus incubation cycles – have passed since the last person confirmed to have the disease had a second negative blood test.
Widespread and intense transmission was recorded in the country since the first case was reported in May 2014. More than 8 700 people were infected with the disease.
Now that the country has been declared free of Ebola, a 90-day period of enhanced surveillance will take place, to ensure that any new case of Ebola virus disease is detected as quickly as possible.
The risk to Europe posed by the disease remains very low. As long as the virus remains present in Guinea, the risk of the disease spreading in the region remains.
It is important that control measures – surveillance, contact tracing and active case finding – remain in place so that zero cases can be reached as soon as possible.
Know more about Ebola outbreak in West Africa
