Mali Declared Ebola-Free
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Pawel Gaul/iStock/Thinkstock(BAMAKO, Mali) — The World Health Organization and Malian authorities announced on Sunday that the Ebola outbreak within Mali was over after it had been 42 days since the last Ebola patient tested negative for the disease.
According to the WHO, Malian Minister of Health and Public Hygiene Ousmane Kone declared the country free of Ebola. Offering praise for the WHO and the international and national efforts to battle Ebola, Kone urged the Malian people to “remain vigilant and to observe the basic preventive measures,” the WHO said.
WHO Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response in Mali Dr. Ibrahima Fall called the announcement an “historic milestone in the fight against Ebola in Mali, Africa and the world.” Fall also praised Malian leadership for taking decisive action in the fight against the spread of Ebola.
Still, Fall noted, while the end of Ebola in Mali represents a battle won, the war against Ebola will continue until all of the West African nations are declared Ebola-free.
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