Ebola: An African Nation Free –

United Nations agency for health, the World Health Organisation, WHO, has announced that Senegal is free of the Ebola outbreak ravaging West Africa. According to a statement the WHO released on Friday, 17 October, 2014, it commends the country for its diligence in putting a stop to the transmission of the virus. The UN agency stated that the index case in Senegal was confirmed 29 August in a young man who had travelled to Dakar, by road, from Guinea, where he had had direct contact with an Ebola patient. The statement called Senegal’s response “a good example of what to do when faced with an imported case of Ebola.” READ ALSO: Man ‘Died’ From Ebola, Awakes After Almost Being Buried It said Senegal government’s response included identifying and monitoring 74 close contacts of the patient, prompt testing of all suspected cases, stepped-up surveillance at many entry points and public awareness campaigns. However, the WHO informed that the west African country still remains vulnerable to further cases of the deadly disease being imported from neigbouring countries and beyond. “While the outbreak is now officially over, Senegal’s geographical position makes the country vulnerable to additional imported cases of Ebola virus disease. It continues to remain vigilant for any suspected cases by strict compliance with WHO guidelines,”the U.N. agency said. This latest development means Nigeria and Senegal are the two affected West African countries to have so far staved off the virus that has killed more than 4,500 peoplein the western Africa region. It would be recalled the Ebola virus killed seven out of the 19 cases of the Ebola virus in Nigeria