The United Nations health agency today declared the end of Ebola virus transmission in Guinea, where the epidemic began two years ago before spreading to neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone and, ultimately by land and air travel to seven other countries, killing over 11,300 people. “This is the first time that all three countries – Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – have stopped the original chains of transmission that were responsible for starting this devastating outbreak two years ago,” World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said in a news release, of the largest-ever epidemic of the deadly disease. Forty-two days have now passed since the last person in Guinea confirmed to have Ebola virus disease tested negative for the second time. WHO and its partners are working with the three governments to help ensure that survivors have access to medical and psychosocial care as well as counseling and education, to help them reintegrate into family and community life and reduce the stigma.
