As additional Ebola cases are recently reported in Mali, at least a total of 268 contacts are being monitored and followed up. The risk for community transmission in Mali is thus elevated. Hence, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) has raised the travel notice for Ebola virus for Mali to Level 2: Alert, advising travelers visiting Mali to take actions to reduce their risk of Ebola infection. Malian health authority announced the country's first Ebola infection on October 21, 2014 in a 2-year-old girl who arrived from Guinea. The girl died on October 24. Subsequently, Mali announced a second case in a 25-year-old male nurse who was unrelated to the first case on November 11. He who worked at a private clinic in the nation's capital, Bamako, where a 70-year-old man from neighboring Guinea had died of probable Ebola. According to the epidemiological investigation, a cluster of four cases related to the 70-year-old man have been confirmed and at least 268 contacts are being monitored and followed up.

On November 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 4 Ebola cases, including 3 deaths, had been reported in Mali. Nonetheless, WHO has not categorized Mali as one of the countries “with widespread and intense transmission”, but rather as one of the countries “with or that have had an initial case or cases, or with localized transmission”. In light of the fact that Ebola transmission might spread further from Bamako, Mali’s capital, Taiwan CDC has raised the travel notice for Ebola virus for Mali to Level 2: Alert, and will continue to closely monitor the development of all ongoing outbreaks in West Africa and response measures in various countries in order to adjust the preparedness and response measures in Taiwan accordingly. In addition, WHO also announced that a cumulative total of 14,413 cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD), including 5,177 deaths, had been reported in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, the United States of America and Spain. The Ebola mortality rate is approximately 70%.

Taiwan CDC advises travelers visiting Ebola-affected areas of West Africa, including Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, to avoid visiting hospitals or having contacts with patients. In addition, travelers are urged to monitor their own health for 21 days after their return to Taiwan. If symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea or rash develop, please call the toll-free hotline 1922(or 0800-001922) and voluntarily inform the doctor of any recent travel and exposure history to facilitate diagnosis and treatment. On the other hand, physicians are advised to stay vigilant for suspected cases, inquire about such patients’ travel and exposure history, and notify the health authority immediately of any suspected cases to facilitate implementation of subsequent measures such as case reporting, specimen collection, isolation of patients, and placing contacts in quarantine in order to prevent further transmission of the disease. Furthermore, healthcare workers are urged to stay alert, don on appropriate personal equipment while attending to patients because initial signs and symptoms are atypical of Ebola, and follow infection control and prevention guidelines such as washing hand frequently, paying attention to respiratory hygiene, avoiding splashing of body fluids. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at: www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).