WHO declares Senegal Ebola-free

WHO says West African country has reached benchmark of 42 days - twice the maximum incubation period - without new case. Senegal has been declared free of Ebola after 42 days passed without a new confirmed case, the World Health Organisation has said. "WHO officially declares the Ebola outbreak in Senegal over and commends the country on its diligence to end the transmission of the virus," the UN health agency said in a statement on Friday. The benchmark of 42 days is twice the maximum incubation period for the disease. However, the WHO said the country remained vulnerable to further cases of the virus being imported. "While the outbreak is now officially over, Senegal's geographical position makes the country vulnerable to additional imported cases of Ebola virus disease," the agency said. "It continues to remain vigilant for any suspected cases by strict compliance with WHO guidelines." There have been only a handful of cases in Senegal. Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the worst hit countries, have suffered thousands of deaths.