Kenya confirms second Ebola case – a relative of the first patient
A 39-year-old relative of the first Ebola victim tested positive while in quarantine. The ministry sees no wider spread. In Congo, cases have passed 9,000.
Symbolic image · Photo: NIAID / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Kenya's Health Ministry has confirmed the country's second Ebola case. The patient is a 39-year-old close relative of the first case who was already in quarantine and being monitored. After developing fever, fatigue and joint pains, he was isolated and tested positive. There is “no evidence of spread in the community”, the ministry said.
The first patient, a 40-year-old Kenyan, had lived in Congo and fell ill there. He travelled via Uganda to Nairobi, where he tested positive on 5 October and died the same day. Authorities identified around 128 contacts, most of whom have been traced or quarantined, according to officials. Five contacts are abroad, and the countries concerned have been notified. Kenya has tightened screening at border crossings and airports.
In Congo, more than 9,000 cases had been confirmed by 13 October, and more than 4,000 people have died. The epicentre is Ituri province. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there is neither a licensed vaccine nor a specific treatment. The EU health agency ECDC continues to rate the risk of importation into Europe as very low.