WHO declares Senegal Ebola free.

LONDON: Amidst reports of the deadly Ebola virus slowly spreading across the world, there is finally some news of hope.

The World Health Organisation on Friday officially declared the Ebola outbreak in Senegal over and commended the country on its
diligence to end the transmission of the virus.

The introduced case was confirmed on August 29 in a young man who had travelled to Dakar, by road, from Guinea, where he had had direct
contact with an Ebola patient.

WHO said "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".

WHO said that 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 treated this case as a public health emergency and immediately dispatched a team of epidemiologists to work alongside staff from
the ministry of health, Medecins sans Frontieres and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

On September 5, laboratory samples from the patient tested negative, indicating that he had recovered from Ebola virus disease. He
returned to Guinea on September 18.

Senegal has maintained a high level of active "case finding" for 42 days - twice the maximum incubation period of Ebola virus disease - to detect possible unreported cases of infection.

WHO however warned that while the outbreak is now officially over, Senegal's geographical position makes the country vulnerable to
additional imported cases of Ebola virus disease.