Senegal First Country Declared Ebola Free After No New Cases
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Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) — Senegal became the first country to be declared free of Ebola during the worst-ever outbreak of the virus after no new cases were reported in at least 42 days, the World Health Organization said.
The country needs to remain vigilant to potential new cases because it neighbors Guinea, where the virus was first found in December, the Geneva-based United Nations agency said in an e- mailed statement today. The WHO considers a country Ebola-free if no new cases are reported in six weeks, twice the incubation period of the disease.
“Senegal’s response is a good example of what to do when faced with an imported case of Ebola,” the organization said in the statement. “Senegal’s geographical position makes the country vulnerable to additional imported cases of Ebola virus disease.”
The deadly virus was introduced in Senegal by a Guinean student in August. The student was isolated and treated, and eventually recovered before being sent back home. Senegal didn’t record any other cases.
About 4,500 people have died in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia since December. Nigeria, which recorded 19 cases, will probably be declared Ebola-free next week, according to the WHO.
–With assistance from Allison Connolly in London.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andres R. Martinez in Accra at amartinez28@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net Pauline Bax, John Viljoen
