Liberia is set to be declared Ebola-free on Thursday (January 14) for the third time in a year as West Africa appears to finally be over the epidemic that left over 11,000 people dead since it began in early 2014.
Even though Sierra Leone had the highest number of Ebola cases at 14,122 compared to Liberia’s 10,675, the death toll was highest in Liberia at 4,809, with Guinea registering 2,536 deaths from 3,804 cases, according to official figures from the World Health Organization (WHO).
At its height, Ebola sparked fear around the world and governments and businesses took precautions. New cases have dwindled due to successful public health campaigns and the intervention of national and international health workers.
Governments from as far afield as Cuba, France and the United States sent health workers and equipment to the three countries in an attempt to get a grip on the disease.
Hundreds of health workers who treated Ebola sufferers were themselves infected, with some dying due to a lack of training and equipment to deal with a disease not previously seen in that part of West Africa.
In total, the outbreak infected 28,637 people, killing 11,315 of them. (Reuters)