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World Health Organization (WHO) today released more details about two Ebola
infections recently confirmed by Mali's health ministry, both of them linked to
a chain of transmission that resulted from a sick imam from Guinea who sought
care at a Bamako clinic.
One
of the patients is a 27-year-old fiancée of a nurse who cared for the imam. The
nurse died of his infection on Nov 11. The woman's symptoms began on Nov 19, and
she was hospitalized the next day at a new Ebola treatment center in Bamako.
The
WHO said her case was detected early and most of her close contacts were already
under surveillance because of her link to the nurse.
The
other patient is a 27-year-old man whose mother and half-brother are listed as
confirmed Ebola patients, both of whom died.. The man's symptoms began on Nov
19, and he was admitted yesterday to the new treatment facility, where his
infection was confirmed the same day.
Mali's
health ministry announcements of both cases appeared in media reports, but with
very few details.
Mali's
total at 8 cases, 6 deaths
The
new infections push Mali's Ebola total to 8 cases, seven of which are linked to
the imam. So far six deaths have been reported. Mali's first case was unrelated
to the most recent transmission chains and involved a 2-year-old girl who
traveled with relatives from Guinea and whose illness was detected in the
western part of the country.
Patient
contact monitoring has reportedly reached 99%, which from experience limiting
the spread of the disease in Senegal and Nigeria is a hopeful sign that it might
be rapidly contained in Mali, the WHO said. It added that staff from Mali's
health ministry are meeting with their counterparts from Guinea to discuss
cross-border measures for curbing the further spread of the virus from Guinea to
Mali.
However,
border health efforts could be complicated by problems on the Guinea side of the
border, according to an update today from the United Nations (UN) Mission for
Emergency Ebola Response (UNMEER). It said villagers in the Guinean border town
of Kouremale have threatened contact tracers who arrived to follow up on Ebola
cases linked to the unsafe burial of the local imam, who died in late October in
Mali after seeing treatment at the Bamako clinic.
The
update added that the Mali side of the border has a treatment center with active
surveillance in place, but the Guinea side lacks treatment facilities, has
limited surveillance, and is experiencing serious community
resistance.