A
2-year-old girl in Mali has been diagnosed with Ebola, making her the
West African country's first confirmed case, health officials said
Thursday.
The girl was brought to Mali from neighboring
Guinea, where the outbreak this year is believed to have started, World
Health Organization spokeswoman Yvette Bivigou said.
The
girl, 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 has Ebola, Health
Ministry spokeswoman Markatie Daou said.
"The girl is still in
the hospital in Kayes together with members of her family who might have
been exposed to the virus," she said.
The confirmed case in
Mali makes it the sixth West African country to be hit by the virus,
which the WHO reported has killed more than 4,800 people.
Ousmane
Kone, Mali's minister for public health, called for people in Kayes,
west of the capital city of Bamako, to "stay calm" and observe "hygiene
measures."
"We identified the first contacts of the patient," he
said. Even so, he asked anyone who had contact with the girl to contact
authorities.
The news comes just days after the WHO announced that vaccine trials are expected to begin in January in West Africa.
The initial vaccine tests are being given to volunteers in countries such as Mali, the United States and England.
Credit: Margot Haddad/Katarina Hoije/CNN
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