What Does It Mean For An Ebola Outbreak To End? -- Alexandra Sifferlin, Time

And how does the World Health Organization decide when that happens?

Nigeria’s most recent outbreak of Ebola is over, the nation’s government and World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday.

But — with fear of Ebola continuing to grip the world — what does that even mean? How does the WHO know that Nigeria is in the clear?

The answer, it turns out, is very specific: The WHO says a country can declare their outbreak to be over when it makes it through 42 days without a new case. That’s two incubation periods for the Ebola virus, so as long as 42 days have passed, during which the country had in place active surveillance and diagnostics but discovered no new cases, the WHO says it’s enough time to confidently say an outbreak is over. For health care workers to be considered “in the clear” they have to be monitored for 21 days after their last possible exposure to the virus, even if they were wearing full protective gear. Health care workers’ date of last contact is considered the day when the final patient with Ebola tests negative for the disease.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- October 20, 2014

Ebola in America: Has the Fever Broken? -- Maggie Fox, NBC

Could Ebola rank among the deadliest communicable diseases? -- Daniel Schwartz, CBC News

Fighting to Lose in Iraq and Syria: Obama’s coalition is falling apart before it can get going. -- Ira Straus, NRO

Why Turkey Changed Course on Kobani -- Naina Bajekal, Time

Slowly but surely, the tide is beginning to turn against ISIL -- Hussein Ibish, The National

How to Financially Starve ISIS -- Naina Bajekal, Time

Could Iraq's tribes provide the glue that keeps the country from falling apart? -- Dominique Soguel, CSM

Welcome Back, Kim Jong Un. Want to Talk? -- Bloomberg editorial

China Versus America -- Roger Cohen, NYT

Afghanistan: ‘A Shocking Indictment’ -- Rory Stewart, New York Review Of Books

#BringBackOurGirls: Will it happen? Nigeria says yes; Boko Haram silent -- Ben Brumfield, CNN

In Zimbabwe, another Mugabe seeks the presidency -- CSM

West Needs to Put Up or Shut Up About Ukraine -- Mark Adomanis, Moscow Times

Submarine hunt sends Cold War chill across Baltic -- Karl Ritter and Matti Huutanen, AP

The oil price is tumbling. Is that good or bad news for the world economy? -- The Economist