Britain will continue to give medical aid to Sierra Leone after the country’s catastrophic Ebola outbreak was declared at an end, it was announced.
Some 150 British medical volunteers worked in the country during the outbreak – taking responsibility for up to half the treatment and isolation beds opened.
Over the weekend the World Health Organisation said 42 days had passed since the last patient recovered from the disease in Sierra Leone – stating that transmission of the virus had been stopped.
Intense surveillance will continue in Sierra Leone for another 90 days.
Some 3,589 people died in the outbreak in Sierra Leone – one of three countries hit by the Ebola virus – and some 8,704 became infected.
Some 221 of the deceased were health care workers.
Dr Anders Nordström, from the World Health Organisation, said: “We now have a unique opportunity to support Sierra Leone to build a strong and resilient public health system ready to detect and respond to the next outbreak of disease, or any other public health threat.”
The British government said it would continue to work with the Sierra Leonean government to help survivors.
This could include helping to vaccinate partners and relatives of survivors.
There would also be help to rebuild the country’s health and education systems.
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