Liberia gets closer to a future without Ebola

(Vatican Radio)  As Liberia begins its countdown to being declared Ebola free, the head of the Catholic Church’s Ebola Response team there, Sister Barbara Brillant, says there’s now optimism the nation can eliminate the deadly disease but warns against signs of complacency in the final stages. The last Ebola patient in Liberia was released from hospital on Thursday (March 5th) and there are currently no fresh cases of the disease in the country. As such, Liberia can begin to count up to 42 days to be declared Ebola free in keeping with World Health Organization protocols and standards. Sister Brilliant spoke to Susy Hodges from the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

Listen to the interview with Sister Barbara Brillant: 

An American missionary who has served in Liberia for nearly 40 years, Sister Barbara Brillant says there’s now a new mood of optimism about overcoming Ebola, especially now that the nation’s children have gone back to school, although there are still lingering fears in some quarters. She says what concerns her as the nation appears to be moving towards the elimination of Ebola are signs of complacency in this vital final stage of the battle against the deadly disease: 

“When you’re running a race, you don’t stop 50 years from the finish line, you keep on going.”

Sister Barbara says overcoming stigma around Ebola is a major task that still has be tackled and said that at the height of the epidemic it was very "vicious" in its scope.