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STORY: WHO / EBOLA OUTBREAK END
TRT: 02:10
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 14 JANUARY 2016, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, press room
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Rick Brennan, Director Emergency Risk Management and Humanitarian Response, WHO:
“Today WHO declares the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia, the outbreak that was associated with the flare up of cases in mid-November. It is also the first time that all three countries in West Africa, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, have stopped all known chains of transmission of the disease since the outbreak started in 2014.”
3. Cutaway, reporter typing
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Rick Brennan, Director Emergency Risk Management and Humanitarian Response, WHO:
“So while this is an important milestone, and a very important step forward, we have to say, that the job is still not done. That is because there is still ongoing risk of re-emergence of the disease, because of persistence of the virus in a proportion of survivors.”
5. Cutaway, press release
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Rick Brennan, Director Emergency Risk Management and Humanitarian Response, WHO:
“The countries of West Africa, have put in mechanisms to manage that risk. So to that end, they are strengthening their disease surveillance mechanisms, we are putting in place services and counselling and testing for survivors, and those services have been scaled up and thirdly there has been the development of rapid response teams to respond in the event that a flare up does occur.”
7. Wide shot, press room
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Peter Graaff, Director Ebola Response,WHO:
9. “We need to remain engaged, before the Ebola outbreak, the three countries in West Africa were ill resourced, ill supported technically in terms of developing their health sector capacity.”
10. Cutaway, press release
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Peter Graaff, Director Ebola Response,WHO:
“We are going to be using the Ebola response experience to be more agile, more operational and be able to react more quickly to whatever future problems come our way.”
12. Cutaway, reporters leaving
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared today the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia and says all known chains of transmission have been stopped in West Africa.
Dr Rick Brennan, Director Emergency Risk Management and Humanitarian Response of the WHO told reporters in Geneva today (14 Jan) that for the first time “all three countries in West Africa, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, have stopped all known chains of transmission of the disease since the outbreak started in 2014.”
But the Organization says the job is not over, more flare-ups are expected and that strong surveillance and response systems will be critical in the months to come.
Liberia was first declared free of Ebola transmission in May 2015, but the virus was re-introduced twice since then, with the latest flare-up in November. Today’s announcement comes 42 days (two 21-day incubation cycles of the virus) after the last confirmed patient in Liberia tested negative for the disease two times.
This date marks the first time since the start of the epidemic two years ago that all three of the hardest-hit countries—Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone—have reported zero cases for at least 42 days. Sierra Leone was declared free of Ebola transmission on 7 November 2015 and Guinea on 29 December.
The World Health Organization cautions that the three countries remain at high risk of additional small outbreaks of Ebola, like the most recent one in Liberia. To date, 10 such flare-ups have been identified that were not part of the original outbreak, and are likely the result of the virus persisting in survivors even after recovery.
Evidence shows that the virus disappears relatively quickly from survivors, but can remain in the semen of a small number of male survivors for as long as one year, and in rare instances, be transmitted to intimate partners.
However, Brenna said the countries are well prepared to manage that risk.
He said “The countries of West Africa, have put in mechanisms to manage that risk. So to that end, they are strengthening their disease surveillance mechanisms, we are putting in place services and counselling and testing for survivors, and those services have been scaled up and thirdly there has been the development of rapid response teams to respond in the event that a flare up does occur.”
WHO and partners are working with the Governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to help ensure that survivors have access to medical and psychosocial care and screening for persistent virus, as well as counselling and education to help them reintegrate into family and community life, reduce stigma and minimize the risk of Ebola virus transmission.
Also speaking at the press conference in Geneva today, Dr Peter Graaff, Director Ebola Response at the WHO said “We need to remain engaged, before the Ebola outbreak, the three countries in West Africa were ill resourced, ill supported technically in terms of developing their health sector capacity.”
He said WHO will use “the Ebola response experience to be more agile, more operational and be able to react more quickly to whatever future problems come our way.”
The Ebola epidemic claimed the lives of more than 11,300 people and infected over 28,500. The disease wrought devastation to families, communities and the health and economic systems of all three countries.
