Kenya has confirmed its third case of Ebola, involving a close relative of the country’s first two patients, the Ministry of Health said on Friday, as authorities intensified efforts to contain the outbreak.
The country had not recorded an Ebola case until last week, when a Kenyan man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) died after returning home.
Just over a week later, a second man, a relative of the first victim, tested positive for the virus while in quarantine.
The latest case involves a 65-year-old woman described by the ministry as “a primary contact and a close relative of the first and second cases”.
According to a statement from the ministry, the woman had been in quarantine since October 6 before developing symptoms, including fever, sore throat and general malaise. She was subsequently isolated and tested positive for the virus.
The ministry stressed that the risk to the general public “remains low”, adding that there was “no evidence of community transmission”.
Of the 130 contacts identified by health authorities, 127 had been traced and placed in quarantine, while efforts were ongoing to locate and isolate the remaining three.
On Wednesday, the ministry confirmed the country’s second case, involving a 39-year-old relative of the first victim. The patient was isolated, with authorities reporting no evidence of widespread transmission.
Kenya had never previously reported an Ebola case.
The outbreak comes as neighbouring countries remain on alert following the spread of the virus in the region. Uganda recorded 20 infections, almost all involving people who had travelled from the DRC, and two deaths before being declared Ebola-free in August.
Kenya’s first victim, a 40-year-old businessman whose identity was not disclosed, reportedly fell ill about a month before his death. He received treatment in the DRC before travelling overland to Kampala, Uganda’s capital, and flying to Nairobi on October 3.
He was admitted to a hospital in Nairobi but died on October 5, according to Health Minister Aden Duale.
The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in May. The disease has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa over the past five decades.
Congolese health authorities have reported 9,066 infections and 4,381 deaths in the current outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus.
There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, making early detection, isolation and contact tracing critical to containing its spread.
AFP
