China-team cures three Liberian Ebola patients

BEIJING - The China-financed Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) in Liberia discharged three Ebola patients on Monday after they all tested negative for the virus twice, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

The three patients, two women and a seven-year-old boy, were found to be infected with the virus in December, spokesman Hong Lei said, adding that after 20 days of treatment at the Chinese facility all three were given the all clear.

China is encouraged by these success stories, Hong said, adding that it was willing to work closely with the international community to help those West African countries struggling to contain the outbreak of Ebola, Hong said.

The 163-member Chinese medical team, formed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), has treated 67 patients since Dec. 23 last year, including five confirmed and 45 suspected patients.

Liberian Assistant Health and Social Welfare Minister Tolbert Nyenswah said President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf extended thanks to China for its assistance, according to Hong.

Liberia has the highest death toll from Ebola in West Africa, which stood at 3,471 by the end of last December, followed by Sierra Leone and Guinea.