Ebola Africa
Health workers take blood samples for Ebola virus testing at a screening tent in the local government hospital in Kenema, Sierra Leone. Reuters

A two-year-old girl in Mali has tested positive for ebola.

The Malian government has confirmed the first case of the deadly haemorrhagic virus in the country.

According to reports the child recently returned from neighbouring Guinea.

The latest report comes as a US doctor awaits test results to determine whether he has contracted the deadly virus.

The 33-year-old doctor identified as Craig Spencer from Detroit, Michigan, was working in the ebola stricken region with Doctors Without Borders. He was quarantined on his return to the US after demonstrating ebola like symptoms.

More than 4,800 people have died of Ebola - mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - since March.

Meanwhile, an international team of scientists has been set up to determine the effectiveness of using the blood of Ebola survivors as a treatment.