Mali confirms two new Ebola cases

Mali has confirmed two new cases of Ebola, bringing to total number of cases in the West African nation to eight, days ahead of the opening of a new UN Ebola response office.

The UN office was oening to support the country's efforts to fight and contain the virus, Xinhua quoted a UN spokesman as saying here Tuesday.

"Today, Mali's Ministry of Health has confirmed two new cases of Ebola in the country, bringing the total of cases in Mali to eight, with all six previously identified patients having died," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said here at a daily news briefing.

"The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the identification of patient contacts for daily monitoring has reportedly reached 99 percent, and based on experiences in Senegal and Nigeria, this achievement could augur well for rapid containment of the current outbreak in Mali," Dujarric said.

Mali, previously free from the virus, is the latest country to register Ebola cases.

Five confirmed Ebola deaths can be traced back to a 70-year-old imam who was brought to the country from Guinea, where the epidemic first began.