Kenya records second Ebola death in first outbreak

Kenya recorded its second Ebola death during its first outbreak, the health ministry said in a BBC News report published Oct. 24.

Seven other Ebola patients were receiving care at two isolation sites, according to the ministry, while more than 4,000 people have died in Africa since May, making it the second most deadly Ebola outbreak on record.

The latest death was a 65-year-old woman who was a close family member of Kenya’s first Ebola victim, the ministry said. She had been quarantined before developing symptoms on Oct. 13.

All known Kenyan cases were in "one cluster, with no evidence of community spread", the ministry said.

The patients still in treatment include three relatives of the first victim, three health workers and a hospital cleaner, according to the ministry.

Kenya’s first Ebola death was recorded on Oct. 5. The patient was a man who became ill in September, received care in several hospitals in DR Congo and later arrived in Nairobi, where he died a few days afterward, according to the report.

The outbreak places Kenya inside a wider regional health emergency linked to DR Congo, where the BBC reported more than 9,500 cases. The International Rescue Committee, which has worked with both governments, said Kenya faces a continued risk of imported cases across borders.

Kenya has stepped up screening for travellers arriving from DR Congo and nine other countries it classifies as high risk: Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. Travellers from those countries must complete a digital surveillance form before boarding flights and show a QR code to port health officials on arrival.

Authorities have also ordered stronger public-health checks on aircraft from those countries and issued public messages urging people to report suspected infections and seek hospital care. Neighbouring Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia are on alert, while the US has warned its citizens against travel to Kenya, according to the BBC report.

Ebola is a viral disease that can become fatal as symptoms progress. It spreads through exposure to bodily fluids from an infected person, including blood or vomit.

The Bundibugyo species involved is relatively rare. No vaccine or treatment has been approved for it, though trials are under way, according to the BBC report.

In Nigeria, Health Minister Professor Ali Pate said the country’s single confirmed Ebola case appears genetically related to a strain earlier identified in Kenya. He said there was no evidence so far that the Kenyan patient travelled to Nigeria and that more testing was continuing.

"We are conducting additional tests. Some of the results are negative, while others are pending," Pate said.

Health officials have been examining whether Nigeria’s first case and Kenya’s first patient crossed paths. Both are believed to have travelled through Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport earlier this month, according to the BBC report.