US closes Ebola treatment center in Liberia

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) - American officials are shutting down a special treatment unit they set up in Liberia at the height of the Ebola crisis last year.

It's the latest sign that life is returning to normal in the West African country where more than 4,600 people have died from Ebola.

On Thursday, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy praised the "response and resilience" of Liberians.

Liberia has gone 32 days now without a new Ebola case. If it stays that way until May 9, the World Health Organization could declare the country Ebola-free.

The United States government last year deployed more than 2,000 troops to fight Ebola in Liberia, setting up about 15 treatment centers.

Six of them are still being actively used by local health workers for various purposes.

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