Mali announces end of its Ebola outbreak
BAMAKO — Mali's health minister says the West African country is Ebola-free after recording no new cases for 42 days, the period required for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare an outbreak officially over.
A photo of the Ebola virus is displayed on a television monitor during a hearing on the Ebola outbreak on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept 17, 2014. Photo: AP
BAMAKO — Mali's health minister says the West African country is Ebola-free after recording no new cases for 42 days, the period required for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare an outbreak officially over.
Health Minister Ousmane Kone made the announcement in a statement last night (Jan 18).
Mali recorded its first Ebola case in October, then nearly eradicated the disease before a new wave of cases occurred in November. In total, the disease infected eight people, killing six of them, according to the WHO.
Ebola has killed more than 8,400 people in West Africa, with the overwhelming majority of those deaths occurring in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Mr David Nabarro, the UN special envoy on Ebola, said this past week that at least 50 hotspots remained in those countries, though new cases are declining. AP
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