Ebola Case Found in Mali

It has been reported by CNN that Mali has had its first confirmed case of the Ebola virus. It seems that a two year old, who has Ebola symptoms, was in Guinea, and came into Mali.  It has been reported that “The girl in Mali, whose father died of Ebola, was taken to the hospital in Kayes after a nurse noticed she was suffering from what appeared to be Ebola-like symptoms. A test confirmed the girl had Ebola, Health Ministry spokeswoman Markatie Daou said Thursday” (CNN, 2014). According to the World Health Organization, 43 individuals are being monitored . These individuals were said to be in contact with the child.  Among those individuals are ten medical aid workers.

The CNN report points out that “The confirmed case in Mali makes it the sixth West African country to be hit by the virus, which WHO reported has killed more than 4,800 people. Nigeria and Senegal have in recent days been declared free of the disease, however.”

It is important that resources are provided to ensure that Mali has all that it needs to fight the Ebola virus, both for those who are affected, as well as the respective communities of those who  have the virus. Furthermore, the international community must continue to cooperate and communicate with one another, sharing resources and information, so that the outbreak can be contained.