First Ebola Case Discovered In Mali

The Malian government has confirmed the first case of Ebola in the country.

It said a two-year-old girl had tested positive for the haemorrhagic virus. Reports say she recently returned from the neighbouring Guinea.

More than 4,800 people have died of Ebola - mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - since March.

Meanwhile, an international team of scientists has been set up to determine the effectiveness of using the blood of Ebola survivors as a treatment.


Speaking on state television on Thursday, Malian Health Minister Ousmane Kone said the infected girl was being treated in the western town of Kayes.
She was brought to a local hospital on Wednesday and her blood sample was Ebola-positive, Mr Kone said.
Mali is now the sixth West African country to be affected by the latest Ebola outbreak - however Senegal and Nigeria have since been declared virus-free by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO says 443 health workers have contracted Ebola, of whom 244 have died.

Source: B