Mali is currently in a tight race against Ebola, sending into quarantine no less than 90 people in an effort to prevent its further spread.
So far, there are four known deaths that are associated with the infection. The first one was a two-year-old girl who crossed the border from Guinea, one of the Western African nations with the highest number of cases and deaths, with her relative.
A Muslim imam who also traveled to Mali from a Guinean town that sits close to the border is said to have died from symptoms that suggest Ebola. He was never tested for the virus after being brought to a health care facility. He died two days after his admission.
The heath authorities are deeply concerned as it's possible the imam has exposed many people to the virus from the mourning period to the washing of the body in the mosque in Bamako, the country's capital, before it was brought back to Guinea.
Soon after, a friend who saw the imam during his hospital confinement developed and eventually died of Ebola. A nurse who also worked in the health care facility and took care of the imam contracted the disease and later died.
The death of the imam compelled the Mali authorities to quarantine more than 90 people as of Wednesday, November 12. These include a doctor who worked alongside the nurse, as well as UN peacekeepers who were in the facility to receive treatment for their injuries they acquired while fighting in the northern part of the country.
The health officials are also monitoring a number of places, which already include the mosque and the clinic where the imam died. The latter is already in a lockdown.
The World Health Organization has confirmed that the number of deaths due to the Ebola Outbreak has already reached 5,000.
