The WHO says it's confident the last few cases from the deadliest ever outbreak of Ebola in West Africa can be contained. More than 11,300 people have died from the virus since December 2013.
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In a media briefing in Geneva, WHO chief Margaret Chan said the Ebola outbreak "no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern."
Chan stressed that the three worst affected countries - Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - remain vulnerable to Ebola flare-ups, including an ongoing cluster of cases in Guinea, which has left five people dead.
But the UN's health agency said all original chains of virus transmission have now ended.
Chan said the "risk of international spread is now low, and ... countries currently have the capacity to respond rapidly to new virus emergences."
Her statement brings to an end a nearly 20-month emergency that started in Guinea in late 2013, saw 28,638 cases emerge and 11,300 deaths.
Chan called for a high level of vigilance in West AfricaImage: picture-alliance/dpa/S. di Nolfi
Highly contagious virus
At its peak in 2014, the Ebola outbreak sparked fears about a possible global pandemic and led to heavy criticism of the WHO, the UN health agency, as governments and aid agencies rushed to help contain the epidemic.
Some governments threatened or enforced travel bans to and from the worst-affected countries.
Chan reiterated on Tuesday that "there should be no restrictions on travel and trade with Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and that any such measures should be lifted immediately."
She called for further work on a possible Ebola vaccine and better diagnostic tests, and pointed to the risk of sexual transmission.
"Semen can be positive for more than a year," she said, referring to the 1 to 2 percent of survivors whose semen contains Ebola virus or virus particles for that long.
The WHO said affected countries must make sure that male survivors can have their semen tested.
Ebola vaccine research in African town made famous by Albert Schweitzer
Lambarene in Gabon is well known for the Albert Schweitzer Hospital named after the famous physician and Nobel Peace laureate. It could make medical history yet again with research into an Ebola vaccine.
Image: DW/J.-P. Scholz/A. Kriesch
Sleepy fishing town
Lambarene is a town in the West African state of Gabon. Many of the 25,000 inhabitants depend on fishing for their livelihood. But the town is best known for the Albert Schweitzer Hospital.
Image: DW/J.-P. Scholz/A. Kriesch
Tight budget
Schweitzer, a German and then French national was a philosopher, theologian, musical scholar. He then later obtained a medical degree and opened a hospital in Lambarene in 1913 as recompense for European guilt over colonialism. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. His hospital exists to this day, but its medical equipment is hopelessly out-of-date.
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Schweitzer less well known
"The money just isn't there for modernization," said Hansjorg Fotouri, the hospital's director. "Donations have fallen off dramatically in recent years. There are now fewer people around who knew Schweitzer personally," he said. Fotouri wants to found a center to promote dialogue between traditional and western medicine.
Image: DW/J.-P. Scholz/A. Kriesch
Fighting Ebola with medical research
There is a new research center next to the Albert Schweitzer Hospital. African and European scientists are working on an Ebola vaccine. It is a weakened, genetically modified virus to which a surface protein of the Ebola virus has been attached. The researchers hope that the immune system will respond to the modified virus by producing Ebola antibodies.
Image: DW/J.-P. Scholz/A. Kriesch
From Germany to Gabon
Dr. Jose Fernandes is supervising a trial of the new vaccine on a group of 60 healthy volunteers. It is a Phase I trial in which the new substance is tested first of all to see if it is safe. Fernandes broke off his studies in Germany to come to Gabon. "It was a simple decision. Finding a vaccine for this disease is a key challenge for medical science," he said.
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Courageous volunteers
Antoine Maganga Mombo is one of the volunteers. He comes to the research center at least once a month to have a blood test. "Just to check that everything is ok," said the 22-year-old, who otherwise appears untroubled by the prospect of serious side effects. "I can help people in the afflicted areas," he said.
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Poverty despite oil reserves
Mombo's family is proud of him. "It requires a lot of courage" said his uncle. For Mombo, the money was also important. He receives 400 euros ($449) for participating in the trial. In spite of Gabon's oil wealth, the majority of residents live in poverty. Mombo makes ends meet by working at gas station.
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WHO collecting trial data
Paul Pitzinger is feeding a World Health Organization (WHO) database with information about the health of the volunteers. A medical student from the University of Vienna, Pitzinger is spending several months in Gabon. The WHO correlates the results of the Gabon trial with others that are running in parallel in Europe, the US and elsewhere in Africa.
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Vaccine release date uncertain
Phase II trials on the effectiveness of the vaccine with a large number of volunteers are due to start in the afflicted West African countries shortly. Bettram Lell, project coordinator in Lambarene, cannot say when - or if - their vaccine will be approved by regulators. But he's hopeful nonetheless. "Things that normally took years, are now being done in months," he said.
