Mali confirms first case of Ebola

Mali has become the latest country in West Africa to be hit by the deadly Ebola virus as its officials have confirmed that a two-year-old girl, who had recently been in Guinea, was diagnosed with the disease.

“Today Mali has its first imported case of the Ebola virus,” the Malian Health Ministry said in a statement released on Thursday.

The child tested positive for the virus after arriving at a hospital in the western town of Kayes on Wednesday. The two-year-old, along with those she has contacted with, has been placed in isolation.

According to Malian health officials, the infected girl, whose identity was not released, had travelled with her grandmother to the Guinean town of Kissidougou, in the southern part of the neighboring country, where the Ebola epidemic was first identified last December.

The ministry, meanwhile, called on residents to stay calm, saying it has adopted all necessary measures to prevent the spread of Ebola.

The West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have been worst hit by the epidemic, which the World Health Organization says has infected around 10,000 and claimed almost 4,900 lives so far.

Mali saw some suspected Ebola cases in April, but these proved to be false alarms.

Ebola is a form of hemorrhagic fever whose symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding. The virus spreads through direct contact with infected blood, feces or sweat. It can also be spread through sexual contact or the unprotected handling of contaminated corpses. There is currently no known cure for Ebola.

A total of 244 health workers out of 443 cases have succumbed to the disease across the affected countries.

MR/NN/KA