Mali has just confirmed its first Ebola case, making it the sixth West African nation to be affected by the deadly virus.
As reported by Reuters on Thursday, October 23, Ousmane Kone, the country's health minister announced that a 2-year-old girl who came from Guinea has just tested positive of the virus.
Although the name of the patient has been withheld, an anonymous source said that the girl lived with her mother in Guinea, one of the hardest hit of the current outbreak, but eventually died of the disease. The relatives then brought the girl to Bamako, the country's capital and biggest city, where she lived for more than a week, and then transferred her to Kayes, where she showed some the symptoms and was admitted by Wednesday night.
The local hospital immediately tested the girl for the virus, which eventually came back positive.
The Mali government is currently stepping up its efforts to contain the spread by closely monitoring everyone that the girl came into contact with. They are also urging those who may have encountered the patient to come forward and get the needed medical help.
The health minister, nevertheless, mentioned that the girl is doing well in her treated because of the rapid response.
This news came only a few days after two other West African countries with Ebola cases declared themselves to be virus free. Senegal and Nigeria didn't have any new cases within the last 42 days prior to the good news. The incubation period of the virus ranges from 2 to 21 days.
However, three other nations, namely, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia continue to feel the tragedy from being affected by the virus. According to the latest reports from World Health Organization, more than 4,500 have already died of the disease with 9,000-plus new cases. The organization also doubted the actual figures as they believe they are underreported.
The virus has also reached outside West Africa, specifically in the United States and Spain.
