In an update on the situation in the west African country of Mali, which last week saw it’s first Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) case in a 2-year-old child from Guinea, the World Health Organization (WHO) describes the situation and the public health response.
To date, 85 contacts of the now deceased Ebola infected child have been identified and are under follow-up. No new cases have been identified.
Public health responses include putting in place an incident command structure in order to: (i) mount a coordinated response including surveillance and contact tracing, case management, safe burials, social mobilization and logistics; (ii) accelerate the completion of the isolation facility at the Center for Vaccine Development in Bamako, Mali; and (iii) provide regular communication to the public.
Local authorities are carrying out training activities for the personnel working in the healthcare facilities where the patient was admitted; furthermore, these facilities are undergoing disinfection and equipment replacement. A management plan for EVD cases has been drafted at the Fousseyni Daou Hospital.
WHO and other partners are mobilizing and deploying additional experts to provide support to the Ministry of Health. The necessary supplies and logistics required for supportive management of patients and all aspects of outbreak control are also being mobilized.
According to the most recent WHO Ebola update, A total of 13 567 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been reported in six affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Spain, and the United States of America) and two previously affected countries (Nigeria, Senegal) up to the end of 29 October. There have been 4951 reported deaths.
