Mali has confirmed its second fatal case of Ebola and signaled an additional death was likely due to the virus, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, underscoring the virus’ ability to move beyond the borders of three West African countries battered by the epidemic.
A nurse at a clinic in the capital city of Bamako died late Tuesday after treating a 70-year-old Guinea man suspected of carrying Ebola. Last month a 2-year-old died from the disease in Mali, although the cases are not related.
The man had checked into a clinic in Guinea in late October and then moved to the clinic in Mali where the nurse works.
The patient died from kidney failure on Oct. 27 and a friend who visited him also died abruptly. While both were considered to be possible Ebola cases, there were no samples for testing, WHO said.
Officials are trying to locate people who may have participated in a ritual washing ceremony of the patient’s body at a mosque in Bamako.
Hands-on burial rites were blamed for the quick spread of Ebola earlier this year in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
“Although these events are still under investigation, WHO staff assume that many mourners attended the ceremonies,” the organization said.
Officials said Ebola may be killing members of the Guinea patient’s family. His first wife died of an undiagnosed illness, and his brother and second wife are being monitored at a treatment center in Guinea.
Meanwhile, WHO said the man’s daughter died from an undiagnosed disease on Monday — the family declined offers for a safe burial — and his son tested positive for Ebola on Tuesday at a mobile biosafety lab.
WHO said Mali is stepping up its precautions and investigative efforts in light of the case and the 2-year-old’s death from Ebola on Oct. 24.
Like the more recent patient, the child also had traveled from Guinea to neighboring Mali.
Nearly 5,000 people have died from Ebola in West Africa since the outbreak began.
A Liberian national, Thomas Eric Duncan, died at a Dallas hospital in October after traveling to the U.S. and testing positive for the disease.
On Wednesday, a lawyer for Duncan’s family said Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital will set up a charitable fund in his name as part of a settlement.
The hospital has acknowledged it made a mistake when it sent Duncan home after his first visit in late September, only to readmit him days later.
“This has been a tragic loss for Thomas Eric Duncan’s children, parents and entire family,” attorney Les Weisbrod said. “Mr. Duncan was not initially correctly diagnosed with the Ebola virus at the time he was discharged home on his first emergency room visit which creates liability. Mr. Duncan was unaware that he had the Ebola virus, which ultimately caused his death when he was inappropriately sent home from the hospital.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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