Mauritania closes border with Mali after Ebola death

NOUAKCHOTT (Xinhua) - Mauritania has closed its border with Mali, where an Ebola death was confirmed in the border area this week, a local health official told Xinhua on Saturday.

"The authorities of Nouakchott gave instruction to conduct the closing of the all terrestrial points of passage situated on the border," said Dr Limam Deddeh, physician chief of the border city of Kobonni.

The border closure, which came after the first confirmed Ebola death in Mali, was meant to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus to the local population, said the doctor.

On Friday, a two-year-old girl from Guinea died of the Ebola virus disease in the western Malian town of Kayes, which is situated near the Mauritanian border.