Western African nation Guinea was declared free of the Ebola epidemic on Tuesday after more than 2,500 people died due to the deadly virus in the last two years.
A country is reportedly declared Ebola free 42 days after the last patient has recovered or has died, and if there are no new infections.
According to reports, more than 28,000 people worldwide have been infected with the virus so far, of whom 11,300 were reported dead.
"Several of my family are dead. This situation has shown us how much we must fight for those who are survivors," Fanta Oulen Camara, who works for Medicines' Sans Frontieres Belgium, told Reuters.
People in the capital city of Conakry greeted the declaration with mixed emotions. "Today the World Health Organisation declares the end of Ebola virus transmission in the Republic of Guinea," AFP quoted the UN agency as saying in a statement.
"WHO commends the government of Guinea and its people on the significant achievement of ending its Ebola outbreak. We must render homage to the Government and people of Guinea who, in adversity, have shown extraordinary leadership in fighting the epidemic," said Dr Mohamed Belhocine, a WHO Representative currently in Guinea.
"WHO and its partners will continue to support Guinea during the next 90 days of heightened surveillance and in its early efforts to restart and strengthen essential health services throughout 2016," reads an official WHO statement.
Sierra Leone celebrated end of the deadly virus in November. Liberia is still struggling to end the epidemic after 4,800 people died due to the hemorrhagic fever since the onset of the epidemic in 2013. If all goes well, Liberia will soon be declared Ebola-free, according to a Reuters report.
