Since the little panic has subsided in the U.S., little attention has been paid here to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. While it has not yet ended, there is some good news.
While the epidemic re-emerged in Liberia earlier this year, as of November 7 it has retreated from Sierra Leone. This means that it has been seven weeks since the person with the last reported case of the disease has had a second negative blood test for the virus. For the next 90 days World Health Organization and other personnel will engage in a period of enhanced surveillance to ensure no new cases of Ebola emerge in the country.
As of November 1 there have been 28,571 reported confirmed, probable and suspected cases of Ebola since this outbreak officially began in May 2014. There have been 11,299 reported deaths linked to these cases (though it is not always clear that Ebola was the proximate cause of death).
While the outbreak is subsiding, the lasting damage to the physical and social systems of the affected countries will linger for a long time. (For instance, since this outbreak affected those over 14 much, much more than those under 14, there are a lot more orphans in the affected countries.) Recovery efforts will continue for months, and the damage caused will linger for longer.