Ebola Outbreak News 2015: Last Known Ebola Patient Released In Sierra Leone [VIDEO]
The last known Ebola patient was just sent out into what might be an Ebola free Sierra Leone.
The patient, Adama Sankoh, was released from the International Medical Corps treatment center in Sierra Leone, and her departure from the clinic was celebrated by hundreds of people, including President Ernest Bai Koroma. According to reports, as the president gave Sankoh her certificate of health he also cautioned that the fight against the deadly virus was not completely over yet. "The Ebola fight is not yet over - go and tell members of your community that," he said. If another case does not emerge in the next 42 days the country will be officially declared Ebola-free.
Sankoh lost her 23-year-old son to the virus and contracted the illness quickly after. While she took a moment to remember her loss, she was also grateful for the shot at life she had been bestowed.
"Although my child died of Ebola I am very happy that I have survived today," she said.
NPR got a sense of the mood on the occasion as a spokesperson for the medical center spoke about the scale of celebration at Sankoh's exit from the hospital.
"It was like she was a rock star," the spokesperson said. "There were at least 100 people there - politicians, press - everyone wanting a photograph of her."
Earlier this year, Libya was declared free of Ebola by WHO. The country had suffered the greatest number of lives lost on account of the virus. Right now, Guinea is the only other West African nation that is still embattling Ebola.