Ebola outbreak: Mali’s last known case recovered and released

The last Ebola patient being treated in Mali has survived the disease and been released, the Health Ministry said Friday, leaving no known Ebola outbreak cases in the West African country.

Mali had recorded eight cases of Ebola, all of them linked to people who crossed from neighboring Guinea. The country now has no confirmed or suspected cases, according to the ministry, but authorities are still monitoring 26 people who had contact with the sick. A person infected with Ebola can take up to 21 days to show symptoms.

The last patient was discharged on Thursday after several Ebola tests came back negative, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

Because people are still being monitored and a sick person could cross the border again, the government warned Malians to remain vigilant.

Countries are only declared free of Ebola when 42 days — twice the maximum incubation period — have passed since anyone has had contact with a confirmed or probable case.

In the current outbreak, Ebola has sickened more than 18,100 people, the vast majority in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Of those, about 6,500 have died. (read more)