WHO to declare Guinea free of Ebola

Guinea is the third African country to be declared free of Ebola after Sierra Leone and Liberia earlier this year.

29 December 2015, 8:45am

1 min read

The World Health Organization (WHO) is expected to declare Guinea free of Ebola, two years after the illness spread through the country.

The disease killed over 2,500 people in the country and left over 9,000 dead in neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia. Both the latter countries were declared Ebola free in November and September respectively.

However, new cases have emerged and caused concern in Liberia.

According to report Guineans are set to celebrate the landmark with concerts and fireworks.

A country is considered free of human-to-human transmission once two 21-day incubation periods have passed since the last known case tested negative for a second time, the BBC reports.

The BBC adds that the disease has had an enormous social and economic impact on the country with UN estimates pointing out that some 6,220 Guinean children have lost one or both parents to Ebola, and over 100 health workers also losing their lives in the fight against the disease.