:00:00. > :00:22.It is the worst public health emergency of modern times. More than
:00:23. > :00:30.11,000 people killed by Ebola. Families destroyed. How does that
:00:31. > :00:36.make you feel? It makes me feel tired again and fed up. The outbreak
:00:37. > :00:48.in Sierra Leone is over, but there's new battle. The neighbours didn't
:00:49. > :00:55.talk to you? Stigma and shame. She has all but lost her sight now.
:00:56. > :00:56.Unexpected after-effects. And fears over what will happen to the people
:00:57. > :01:17.who survived Ebola. I am back on the road in Sierra
:01:18. > :01:23.Leone. I want to meet the people I visited when I was here at the
:01:24. > :01:30.height of the Ebola outbreak. And see they're coping now. We're
:01:31. > :01:33.heading to a hill station village. I was here over a year ago and at that
:01:34. > :01:39.time the community were working really hard to keep safe. They were
:01:40. > :01:43.using disinfected and were very clear on how Ebola was spread. One
:01:44. > :01:46.year on we are heading back to see how they fare now, whether they
:01:47. > :01:52.managed to keep Ebola away from their village. It is quite a bumpy
:01:53. > :02:03.road up this hill, but I am looking forward to seeing them all. Joyce!
:02:04. > :02:10.How are you? Can I hug you? Joys and her colleagues were on the front
:02:11. > :02:14.line of this fight. -- Joyce. She lost three friends who were nurses.
:02:15. > :02:21.Back then, touching was strongly discouraged. Tell me what happens
:02:22. > :02:27.next. At that time, when you came, nobody was infected. But I think in
:02:28. > :02:35.September... About September, we started to have casualties. We had
:02:36. > :02:44.one room, next door, who was infected. -- one woman. How many of
:02:45. > :02:48.them there died? 15 of them died. Only this was the survivor. 15 died
:02:49. > :02:55.in the community? Yes, in about two months. When was that? I came in
:02:56. > :03:02.October last year. November. November, December. Soon
:03:03. > :03:08.afterwards? Yes. He was the only survivor. Two households were
:03:09. > :03:17.infected in this village. Ibrahim's was one of them.
:03:18. > :03:25.How many members of your family did you lose?
:03:26. > :03:35.He wanted to show me his home. His family rented the entire house, but
:03:36. > :03:40.now he lives in this tiny room, relying on handouts from neighbours.
:03:41. > :03:41.All his possessions were destroyed for fear they could harbour the
:03:42. > :04:00.deadly virus. It must be very difficult for you to
:04:01. > :04:25.sleep here every night. I can't imagine what that's like,
:04:26. > :04:30.Ibrahim. I am so sorry. I don't know what to say. I'm so glad that you
:04:31. > :04:35.are getting some help here, some real help. I know that you have a
:04:36. > :04:51.very difficult road ahead. But tell me about your hopes for the future.
:04:52. > :05:00.When I was welcomed into this community the year ago I followed
:05:01. > :05:02.volunteers as they went door-to-door handing out soap and telling people
:05:03. > :05:10.what to do if a family member became sick. There are efforts meant only
:05:11. > :05:13.Ibrahim's and one other household were infected. It could have been
:05:14. > :05:27.much worse. These are community heroes. Medics
:05:28. > :05:35.and volunteers who worked tirelessly to keep Ebola at bay. But it's taken
:05:36. > :05:42.its toll. When you hear the thoughts of stories we've heard today, how
:05:43. > :05:56.does that make you feel? It makes me feel tired again and fed up. Because
:05:57. > :06:04.I remember back. I am really exhausted from the stories I heard.
:06:05. > :06:11.Exhausted from the outbreak? Yeah. What's been the most difficult part
:06:12. > :06:21.of it for you? The most difficult part is some of my closest woman,
:06:22. > :06:26.children, were lost and today we went to the house again, remembering
:06:27. > :06:33.them. It is the most difficult part for me. Do you feel like you were
:06:34. > :06:38.able to help your community here? Yes, I was able to help. And I think
:06:39. > :06:50.I tried my best. Yes. The outbreak in Sierra Leone may be
:06:51. > :06:55.over but there are many uncertainties. 4000 people survived
:06:56. > :07:05.this disease, but no one knows the long-term effects. We know the virus
:07:06. > :07:09.can linger on in some survivors. Scientists are testing body fluids,
:07:10. > :07:14.including semen, Euratom, breastmilk and even tears, to find out how it
:07:15. > :07:20.can persist in the body and crucially whether it can spread. --
:07:21. > :07:23.urine. This is the most dangerous part, because they are making sure
:07:24. > :07:35.the virus at this point isn't infectious? Yes. And they must do it
:07:36. > :07:41.in the Cabinet. Not outside of it. The main area is not permitted for
:07:42. > :07:44.doing this kind of activation. Until this outbreak it was thought Ebola
:07:45. > :07:51.could stay in semen for only three months. Now we know it can linger
:07:52. > :07:54.for at least nine months. It is because these fluids, and others,
:07:55. > :08:00.are kept in parts of the body where the immune system is weaker, so the
:08:01. > :08:03.virus can hide there. The work happening here is taking the world
:08:04. > :08:07.to a whole new level of scientific understanding about Ebola. We
:08:08. > :08:11.already knew the virus is one of the deadliest on the planet, what the
:08:12. > :08:18.scientists here are trying to figure out is whether it could also be one
:08:19. > :08:21.of the most enduring. There has been on known case where a woman was
:08:22. > :08:27.infected eye a survivor six months after he recovered. -- by a. It is
:08:28. > :08:32.while male survivors are told to use condom is. New mothers are also
:08:33. > :08:39.advised against breast-feeding. -- condoms. What people are concerned
:08:40. > :08:42.about is whether we will see a resurgence of disease and whether
:08:43. > :08:50.you might be having reservoirs of the virus in survivors that may
:08:51. > :08:55.potentially cause infection later. This country is desperate to move on
:08:56. > :09:01.from Ebola. Sierra Leone was already one of the poorest countries in the
:09:02. > :09:02.world, the blossoming economy plummeted and the already weak
:09:03. > :09:18.health system crumbled. # Happy birthday to you... # a happy
:09:19. > :09:22.birthday. She, like all the women here today, is lucky to be alive.
:09:23. > :09:30.But survival is bittersweet. A pregnant woman died. She was
:09:31. > :10:02.looking after her? The trauma is compounded by the
:10:03. > :10:10.stigma and suspicion all these women now face in their communities.
:10:11. > :10:50.What have been the challenges for you after surviving?
:10:51. > :11:35.problems, many survivors have been reporting further physical
:11:36. > :11:39.complications. This woman has just arrived at one of the very few
:11:40. > :12:10.survivors' clinics. She can barely see.
:12:11. > :12:19.She is checked over and immediately referred for further treatment. She
:12:20. > :12:22.has all but lost her sight now. The medics here are taking her as an
:12:23. > :12:29.emergency to a nearby are a clinic to try and do what they can at this
:12:30. > :12:34.very late stage. -- eye clinic. This is one of the key after effects
:12:35. > :13:00.reported by survivors, along with joint pains and extreme fatigue.
:13:01. > :13:07.Mbinti is considered one of the lucky ones. She lives in the capital
:13:08. > :13:11.were some help is available. The medical charity Medecins Sans
:13:12. > :13:16.Frontieres will pay for some of her treatment. Mbinti has just been
:13:17. > :13:20.examined. We are now waiting to find out what the problem is, whether
:13:21. > :13:24.they can do anything to help her. She has just had some eyedrops but
:13:25. > :13:32.in and we will wait and see what happens next. It is not clear what
:13:33. > :13:37.causes this site problems. One American Ebola survivor reported
:13:38. > :13:44.similar issues. Tests revealed there was still traces of the virus inside
:13:45. > :13:48.his eyeball. She finds it difficult to concentrate when the eye is
:13:49. > :13:56.exposed to bright light, so it irritates her, so she has to close
:13:57. > :14:04.her eyes. Yes, she has eyedrops to mitigate this effect but she is
:14:05. > :14:11.still finding it difficult to open her eyes. Mbinti is still in pain
:14:12. > :14:21.but doctors believe she will get her site back.
:14:22. > :14:47.I don't feel very well. I have got some problem with my eyes. They
:14:48. > :14:50.would you refer me to? At this military hospital in the capital, a
:14:51. > :14:53.facility that saved hundreds of lives during the outbreak, work
:14:54. > :15:00.continues to monitor the condition of survivors. Today, health workers
:15:01. > :15:10.are being taught how to take fluid samples from patients. Doctor
:15:11. > :15:15.Susannah McDonald is one of the lead scientists looking into how Ebola
:15:16. > :15:18.lingers on in the body. It is very important that we gather as much
:15:19. > :15:23.evidence as we can and as much data as we can because that is ultimately
:15:24. > :15:27.what will lead to the reduction in stigma, but persistence in the virus
:15:28. > :15:30.is something that we only to very mindful of. This is the largest
:15:31. > :15:36.epidemic we have ever seen with the largest number of survivors, so if
:15:37. > :15:40.we are going to get to and stay at a resilient zero, we have to make
:15:41. > :15:45.informed decisions. Given the early findings of your research so far, do
:15:46. > :15:51.you feel it would be to early to declare Sierra Leone free of Ebola?
:15:52. > :15:56.At the beginning of this epidemic, 42 days without being sufficient for
:15:57. > :16:01.such a declaration. That is two successive incubation period. What
:16:02. > :16:07.we are now saying is you need an additional 90 days on top of that
:16:08. > :16:10.with heightened surveillance. Out of the thousands of survivors, only a
:16:11. > :16:16.couple of hundred are giving regular samples. Most don't know if they
:16:17. > :16:21.pose a risk to themselves or to their families. But the World Health
:16:22. > :16:32.Organisation says any risk to others is low. I'm giving plasma, I'm
:16:33. > :16:39.giving semen. I'm doing this because I want to know my statement, if I'm
:16:40. > :16:44.totally free from the virus. It must be very frightening. Seriously. You
:16:45. > :16:53.can find it in your semen, you can find it in your bodily fluid. You
:16:54. > :16:59.cannot have sexual relations with any other person until they say you
:17:00. > :17:01.are free from all of the virus. The World Health Organisation is also
:17:02. > :17:07.investigating a number of cases where people died after recovering
:17:08. > :17:21.from Ebola. I have returned to another village in Freetown to meet
:17:22. > :17:24.the family of Bassi. I don't know if you remember me but I was here on a
:17:25. > :17:29.very difficult day for your family in January. Do you remember? Yes.
:17:30. > :17:37.What can you remember about that day when your father passed away?
:17:38. > :17:41.How was your father after he recovered? What condition was he
:17:42. > :18:09.in? Because he survived Ebola. And what would you want to know
:18:10. > :18:28.about your father? I was here the day her father's body
:18:29. > :18:34.was taken away. Her family will probably never know what actually
:18:35. > :18:44.killed him, a re-emergence of Ebola or something entirely unrelated.
:18:45. > :18:52.What is this? This is rice? Yes. Tasty? Yes. Just have it plain? Yes.
:18:53. > :18:57.Is it sweet? Yes. Tasty? Yes. Just have it plain? Yes.
:18:58. > :19:02.Is it sweet? Yes. Her father had been the main breadwinner. Now she
:19:03. > :19:02.sells snack food outside her home to help support
:19:03. > :19:07.sells snack food outside her home to help support her family. And how do
:19:08. > :19:36.you remember your father? What are your memories of him?
:19:37. > :19:48.This is the first time she and her sister have been able to visit their
:19:49. > :19:57.father's gravesite. A silent prayer and so many unanswered questions. I
:19:58. > :20:03.have been covering this outbreak for the last 18 months in Sierra Leone.
:20:04. > :20:08.Finally it is over. I have seen terror and great loss but also
:20:09. > :20:19.bravery and great strengths. Victoria was Sierra Leone's first
:20:20. > :20:40.Ebola survivor. Maeli is hopefully the last.
:20:41. > :21:23.And how are people treating you now?
:21:24. > :21:32.And what about you? Ebola is finished now in Sierra Leone. How do
:21:33. > :22:20.you feel about that? 221 health workers died fighting
:22:21. > :22:28.Ebola in Sierra Leone. Tonight, they are remembered by candlelight. As
:22:29. > :22:36.the country celebrates the end of the outbreak. Sierra Leone knows it
:22:37. > :22:44.is in uncharted territory but one thing has always been true of
:22:45. > :23:08.Ebola. It is a tenacious virus intent on making a comeback.
:23:09. > :23:12.Welcome to the weekend, but what a wild, windy start to the weekend.