Ebola prevention billboard in Freetown, Sierra Leone
(Image credit: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images)

The World Health Organization declared Sierra Leone Ebola-free in a ceremony Saturday, marking 42 days with no new cases of the deadly virus, Reuters reports. Thousands gathered to celebrate with a candlelight vigil in Freetown, the nation's capital.

Since March 2014, more than 11,300 have died of Ebola, with West Africa hit hardest. Liberia is also Ebola-free, but Guinea is not. Sierra Leone's first Ebola survivor, Victoria Yillia, urged authorities to remember her fellow survivors, many of whom have experienced stigma as well as ongoing health problems.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.