WHO just made a historic declaration about the status of Ebola in Guinea.
Guinea is officially Ebola-free.
Meet Noubia, the adorable little cutie in the photo below.
Photo by Cellou Binani/AFP/Getty Images.
She was just 34 days old when this picture was snapped back in November 2015, so she probably won't be able to recall all the hoopla over this photo when she grows up. But the picture, nonetheless, will go down in history.
Why? The photo captures the exact moment when Noubia, the last known patient to contract Ebola in Guinea, was released from care after being treated for the deadly disease.
Noubia's prognosis last month means her home country has officially turned a very big corner in the fight against Ebola.
Guinea was declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization on Dec. 29, 2015.
Two 21-day incubation periods have passed since the last known patient — in Guinea's case, Noubia — has tested negative for Ebola a second time, according to the World Health Organization.
This is a big deal — not just for Guinea, but for all of West Africa. It's the first time the three hardest hit countries — Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone — "have stopped the original chains of transmission that were responsible for starting this devastating outbreak two years ago,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said in a statement.
Photo by Cellou Binani/AFP/Getty Images.
Guineans are preparing to celebrate the declaration and ring in 2016 with fireworks and concerts, BBC News reported.
"It's the best year-end present that God could give to Guinea, and the best news that Guineans could hope for," Alama Kambou Dore, an Ebola survivor, told AFP News agency.
The celebrations come after two years of immeasurable heartache in Guinea.
The virus has ravaged West Africa since the chain of infections began in December 2013, causing about 11,300 deaths worldwide.
More than 2,500 of them have been in Guinea.
An Ebola patient sits at a treatment center in Guinea in 2014. Photo by Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images.
While the WHO's declaration of an Ebola-free Guinea is more than welcome, it certainly doesn't mean the country can let down its guard just yet. In fact, Guinea now enters a three-month period of heightened surveillance to make sure any new cases are quickly identified and treated immediately before spreading to other patients.
"The coming months will be absolutely critical," said Dr. Bruce Aylward of WHO's Ebola response team. "This is the period when the countries need to be sure that they are fully prepared to prevent, detect and respond to any new cases."
Liberia, for instance, was declared Ebola-free back in September, but has had two cases crop up since then.
But for now, Guineans have every reason to celebrate.
The coming year will bring a "full health sector recovery agenda" to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, the WHO reports, noting that they'll focus mostly on vital public programs, like maternal and child health, and on pinpointing any Ebola flare-ups down the road.
You are just the cutest, Noubia. Photo by Cellou Binani/AFP/Getty Images.
Dr. Rick Brennan, a member of WHO's Ebola response team, told The New York Times that the declaration serves as a great moment to build on the significant progress that's been made.
“It’s important to take a pause and be thankful for where we’ve arrived at and get to work rebuilding that health system and making it more resilient for the future."
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.