(Image source from: Guinea free from Ebola virus!})

On Tuesday, Guinea was declared free of Ebola virus by authorities and the U.N. World Health Organisation. In the West African nation, over 2,500 people died because of the virus. With this, Liberia is the only country left as the one awaiting a countdown for the end of the epidemic. In November, Sierra Leone officially ended its epidemic.

The declaration was welcomed by the people with mixed emotions in the wake of deaths and damage done by the virus. The virus hit hard the country’s economy, health as well as education sectors.

Reuters quoted Fanta Oulen Camara, who works for Medecins Sans Frontieres Belgium, as, “Several of my family are dead. This situation has shown us how much we must fight for those who are survivors.”

“After I got better, the hardest thing was to make people welcome me. Most people that normally supported me abandoned me. Even the school where I was an instructor dropped me. It was very hard,” said Camara who fell ill in March 2014.

An official at the national coordination centre for the fight against Ebola, Rene Migliani, said that the Ebola virus orphaned nearly 6,200 children in Guinea.

Few interesting figures from WHO

•More than 28,600 Ebola cases recorded across the globe.
•A total of 11,300 deaths occurred due to Ebola cases.
•More than 3,800 Ebola cases in Guinea.
•Almost all cases and deaths as well were in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Authorities declare a country as Ebola-free, if no cases of infections 42 days after the death or recovery of the final patient.

-Sumana