Mali Confirms Its First Case Of Ebola

Mali�s Ministry of Health has confirmed the country�s first case of Ebola virus disease.

�The Ministry received positive laboratory results, from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, on Thursday, October 23, and informed World Health Organization (WHO) immediately.

�In line with standard procedures, samples are being sent to a WHO-approved laboratory for further testing and diagnostic work,� a statement issued by the WHO and copied to the Ghana News Agency over the weekend said.

�In telephone conversation on Thursday night, health officials gave WHO the following details about the case, which is currently undergoing intense investigation.�

The statement said the patient was a two-year-old girl, who recently arrived from Guinea accompanied by her grandmother.

It said the child�s first contact with the country�s health services occurred on October 20, when she was examined by a health care worker at Quartier Plateau in Kayes, a city in western Mali on the Senegal River.

�Symptoms on admission included a fever of 39�C, cough, bleeding from the nose, and blood in the stools.

�Test results were negative for malaria, but positive for typhoid fever. The child received paracetamol, but did not improve,� it said.

�Further testing at the country�s SEREFO laboratory confirmed Ebola virus as the causative agent on October 23.�

It said initial investigation of this case � the first confirmed in Mali � has revealed the extensive travel history of the child and her grandmother.

The statement noted that the grandmother travelled from her home in Mali to attend a funeral in the town of Kissidougou, in southern Guinea.

WHO is seeking confirmation of media reports that the funeral was for the child�s mother, who is said to have shown Ebola-like symptoms before her death.

�These and other facts will be communicated as they are confirmed,� the statement said.

Source: GNA