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Kenya Confirms First Ebola Case and Death
Confirmed
In Short: Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case and death on Tuesday, marking the country's entry into the ongoing outbreak that has claimed over 4,000 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The patient, who had been ill for about a month, traveled from the DRC to Uganda’s capital, Kampala, and then flew to Nairobi on Saturday. He was isolated and treated at Nairobi Hospital, where he tested positive for the Ebola virus and died late Monday.
Health Secretary Aden Duale said at least eight family members of the victim and 21 healthcare workers have been quarantined to halt local transmission.
The outbreak, which was declared in mid-May, has seen more than 8,300 confirmed cases across seven provinces in the DRC, making it the worst Ebola epidemic in the country’s history.
Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths earlier in the year but was declared Ebola-free in August.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the epidemic is “far from over” and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, which killed more than 11,000 people.
Despite the new case, the WHO advised against imposing travel and trade restrictions on Kenya, DRC, and Uganda.
Kenya has placed its border points on high alert and is monitoring for possible additional cases. The country has tested 267 samples at five laboratories since May.
The WHO has delivered about 1,000 Ebola tests and 1,000 personal protective equipment kits to high-risk counties in Kenya.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention commended Kenya’s rapid identification, isolation, and testing of the patient and dispatched a high-level team to offer support.
Ebola is highly contagious and spreads through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen, and with contaminated surfaces and materials.
Kenya is the fourth country to record an Ebola case in the current outbreak, following the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan.
What's confirmed
- Kenya has confirmed its first Ebola case after the death of a Kenyan national in Nairobi, who had returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
- READ MORE: Congo faces health worker shortage as Ebola remains out of control, WHO says The man had been residing in Congo for the past seven years and fell ill about a month ago.
- Health authorities in Kenya have placed the country's border points on high alert and are monitoring for possible additional cases.
- Duale said that the man had been isolated and treated at Nairobi Hospital, where he tested positive for the Ebola virus and died late Monday.
- The current outbreak was declared in mid-May, months after it had been spreading in a remote part of eastern Congo.
- At least 8,400 cases have been recorded, including more than 4,000 deaths, according to government data, making it the fastest-growing outbreak of the disease in history.
- Kenya has never had an outbreak of Ebola, according to the Kenya Medical Research Institute.
- The country hosts a United States-funded isolation center for American citizens exposed to Ebola to quarantine for 21 days before traveling back to the U.S. The isolation facility faced legal battles and deadly protests by locals who feared it was exposing them to the virus.
- Before Kenya reported its case, there had been no active cases outside Congo since Uganda declared its outbreak over in late August.
- The minister said that Kenya had tested 267 samples at five laboratories across the country since May before this first case was detected.
- The World Health Organization on Tuesday said that it was working with Kenya to prevent the spread of the virus.
- "WHO has also delivered about 1,000 Ebola tests and 1,000 personal protective equipment kits to high-risk counties in Kenya," a WHO statement said.
What's still developing
- Nothing material beyond the confirmed record.