
The population of Sierra Leone exploded with joy when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the West African country finally Ebola-free after containing the outbreak that devasted the nation for a year and a half.
“[For] everyone I’ve spoken to, there’s a sense of relief that this might finally be over and maybe a bit of disbelief that after so many false starts, or false ends, we might finally be there,” says Dr Oliver Johnson from the King’s College Sierra Leone partnership.
Over the past 18 months, the viral hemorrhagic fever has claimed the lives of almost 4,000 people. According to the WHO, a country is 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. Neighboring Liberia has been Ebola-free since September 2024 after 4,800 deaths. In Guinea, the outbreak has yet to be contained, so Sierra Leone will take heightened security and health screening measures along their shared border.