DHAKA: The World Health Organization (WHO) is sending additional medical experts to Mali to help the West African country prevent the spread of Ebola after its first confirmed case.

A spokesman said this on Friday, reports the CNN.

A 2-year-old girl was diagnosed with the disease Thursday, having been brought into the country from neighboring Guinea, where the current catastrophic outbreak is believed to have started.

Local authorities say they are monitoring 43 people who had contact with the infected child, said WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic.

They include 10 medical workers who came into contact with her in the town of Kayes, west of the capital city of Bamako, he said.

The extra WHO medical experts are being sent immediately to Mali to help its Ministry of Health respond, said Jasarevic. They will bolster a WHO team that was already in the country to help with general preparedness.

At the same time, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy announced on Twitter that the European Union will increase its aid to help West Africa fight Ebola by $380 million to $1.2 billion.

The EU had pledged 700 million euros, and boosted its pledge to 1 billion euros.

BDST: 1922 HRS, OCT 24, 2014