Ebola strikes again in Mali: Bamako nurse becomes second death

In a follow-up to reports of a suspected Ebola case in Mali, both the Mali Ministry of Health (computer translated) and the World Health Organization (WHO) now confirm the country’s 2nd Ebola case and death.

The details of the case is a nurse who worked in a privately run health clinic in Bamako, the capital city of Mali.

WHO says the nurse started showing Ebola-like symptoms and later isolated on the evening of 10 November following suspicions of Ebola infection in a patient from Guinea who was treated at the Pasteur clinic in late October. These suspicions were raised by an alert from health authorities in Guinea. The nurse died during the night of 11 November.

Testing was done at the biosafety level 3 laboratory in Bamako. In line with standard procedures, samples are being sent to a WHO-approved laboratory for confirmation and further virological analysis.

Like Mali’s first case, this second case is associated with the outbreak in Guinea. Chains of transmission are being investigated by health officials and WHO staff in both Mali and Guinea.

The 2 confirmed cases in Mali are not linked.

Related: Mali reports Ebola case in Guinea child

The WHO gives details on the October patient that was treated at the Pasteur clinic:

According to the preliminary investigation, a 70-year-old male resident of Kourémalé village, in the Siguiri prefecture of Guinea, had onset of symptoms from an undiagnosed disease on 17 October. On 18 October, he was admitted to a private clinic in the mining town of Siguiri.

The town, which is located along Guinea’s 800 km border with Mali, was an intense focus of Ebola virus transmission from early July to mid-August.

As his condition did not improve, he was transferred to another clinic located just across the border in Mali. On 25 October, he travelled by car, together with 4 family members to seek treatment at the Pasteur Clinic in Bamako.

He was suffering from acute kidney failure, a complication often seen in late-stage Ebola virus disease. Multiple laboratory tests were performed, but not for Ebola.

He was treated at the Pasteur Clinic from 25 October until his death, from kidney failure, on 27 October. In addition, a friend who visited him at the clinic also died abruptly from an undiagnosed disease. Both are considered probable Ebola cases. For both, no samples are available for testing.

The nurse, whose fatal Ebola infection was confirmed on 11 November, worked at the Pasteur Clinic.

Because of his religious status as a Grand Imam, his body was transported to a mosque in Bamako for a ritual washing ceremony. The body was then returned to the native village of Kourémalé for formal funeral and burial ceremonies. Although these events are still under investigation, WHO staff assume that many mourners attended the ceremonies.