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Good news on Ebola!
The World Health Organization declared Senegal free of Ebola.
In a statement, WHO, "commend[ed] the country on its diligence to end the transmission of the virus." According to the statement, "Senegal's response is a good example of what to do when faced with an imported case of Ebola. The government, under leadership of President Macky Sall and the Minister of Health Dr. Awa Coll-Seck, reacted quickly to stop the disease from spreading."
A case of Ebola was confirmed August 29 in a man who had traveled to Senegal by road from Guinea, where he had been exposed through direct contact with a patient who had the disease.
According to WHO, "The government's response plan included identifying and monitoring 74 close contacts of the patient, prompt testing of all suspected cases, stepped-up surveillance at the country's many entry points and nationwide public awareness campaigns."
WHO sent a team of epidemiologists to Senegal to work with the Ministry of Health as well as Médecins sans Frontières and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A country can be declared free of the disease after a 42-day waiting period, which is twice the incubation period. The period starts on the last day anyone in the country was confirmed to have the disease.
Nigeria will have passed through the 42-day waiting period on Monday, October 20, and if no other cases are reported, it will be declared Ebola free.
Countries that have had an initial case or localized transmission and have not yet passed the monitoring phase include Spain and the U.S.
The U.S. has had two cases, including one fatality. The first case was reported September 30, in a patient who exhibited symptoms four days after arriving from Liberia. A nurse who had treated the patient also contracted the disease.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said on October 15 that these two transmissions of Ebola do not amount to an outbreak, but that the government is taking all precautions to ensure no further transmission of the disease.
In Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, new cases continue to emerge, sometimes in areas where the disease had appeared to be under control. WHO does not see encouraging signs of the disease being brought under control soon in those countries.
A separate, said to be unrelated outbreak of the disease is ongoing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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