Ebola virus disease in Mali

Ebola virus disease in Mali

Map of Mali
Cases in Mali	8 (as of 18 January 2015[update])[1]
Deaths	6

Ebola virus disease in Mali occurred in October 2014,^[2] leading to concern about the possibility of an outbreak of Ebola in Mali. A child was brought from Guinea and died in the northwestern city of Kayes.^[3] Mali contact traced over 100 people who had contact with the child; tracing was completed in mid-November with no further cases discovered.^[4] In November, a second unrelated outbreak occurred in Mali's capital city, Bamako. Several people at a clinic are thought to have been infected by a man traveling from Guinea.^[5] On January 18, Mali was declared Ebola-free after 42 days with no new cases. There had been a cumulative total of eight cases with six deaths.^[1][6]

As of late 2014, the Ebola virus epidemic in Mali's southern neighbors Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea has led to thousands of deaths. Mali, a country of about 16.5 million people, was ranked as one of the top four countries at risk for an outbreak prior to its first reported case.^[7]