{People in Sierra Leone are celebrating ahead of expected official confirmation that the country is free of Ebola.}
The outbreak killed almost 4,000 people in Sierra Leone over the past 18 months.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is expected to confirm the news later.
Thousands of people took to the streets of the capital, Freetown, at the stroke of midnight – marking 42 days without a single declared case of the disease.
Many gathered around a giant cotton tree in the centre of the city, where some lit candles in memory of the victims, and others danced with joy.
A country is considered free of human-to-human transmission once two 21-day incubation periods have passed since the last known case tested negative for a second time.
At the scene: Tulip Mazumdar, BBC News, Sierra Leone
This is the moment Sierra Leone has been waiting for. Thousands of people took to the streets of the capital on the run-up to midnight.
Women’s groups came together to organise a march through the city centre; the final point was a 600-year-old cotton tree which sits on a huge roundabout. Usually, the area is jammed with cars, but last night it was packed with people. Some held up candles, others jumped around dancing and a military band led the procession through the city.
There were waves of celebrations, and then silence as names of some of the dead were beamed on to a screen. Health workers in particular were honoured for their bravery and sacrifice, they were some of the first to die when Ebola struck. Today is an enormous milestone for Sierra Leoneans, and people are overjoyed. But this historic moment, is bittersweet.
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Neighbouring Liberia was declared Ebola-free in September following 4,800 deaths there.
A handful of cases are still being reported in neighbouring Guinea, and Sierra Leone has said it will take heightened security and health screening measures at their shared border.
BBC
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