Forty-two days have passed since the last Ebola case was detected in Nigeria, the World Health Organization announced on Oct 20, declaring the country Ebola-free. It was welcome news not only for Africa, but also for the rest of the world, raising the confidence of the countries and people combating the deadly disease.

Ebola, still rampant in West Africa, broke out earlier this year and has spread to Europe and the United States. The epidemic has claimed the lives of 4,922 people and more than 13,000 confirmed infection cases, mostly in the three hardest-hit countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

When the Ebola virus was carried into Nigeria on July 20 by Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian national, almost everyone assumed the disease would sweep across the most populous country in Africa. Twenty confirmed cases were detected in Nigeria, with one of the victims succumbing to the disease.