Kenya Detects Four New Ebola Cases, Public Risk Deemed Low
Nairobi, Kenya (ANTARA) — Kenya confirmed four new Ebola cases on Saturday (17 October), including three healthcare workers who treated the country’s first patient, bringing the total number of infections in the country to seven, according to the Ministry of Health.
“The Ministry of Health confirms four new cases of Ebola (Bundibugyo virus disease). This brings the total number of confirmed cases to seven, including the first case, which was fatal,” Director-General of Health Patrick Amoth said in a statement.
The new cases involve three medical workers: two men aged 29 and 35, and a 32-year-old woman. They treated the first patient on 3–4 October.
The fourth patient is a male relative of the first person to die from the disease. The ministry said he had been in quarantine since 6 October.
Amoth said all four patients developed fevers while in quarantine and were promptly isolated. Laboratory tests confirmed they had been infected with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
The infections were confirmed by the National Public Health Laboratory’s Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute.
The four patients are receiving supportive care from trained healthcare workers. The ministry reported that the second and third patients were in stable condition and responding well to treatment.
Health authorities said identifying the four cases among people already in quarantine helped reduce the risk of further transmission.
The ministry said 128 of the 130 people identified as close contacts, or 98.5 per cent, had been traced and placed in quarantine. Efforts are continuing to locate the remaining two.
Amoth said there was no evidence of community transmission and stressed that the risk to the general public remained low.
The ministry is also monitoring four relatives who had cared for the first patient while he was in hospital.
Despite the increase in infections, Kenya has not imposed restrictions on travel, trade or public gatherings. Authorities said business activity in the country was continuing as usual.
The first confirmed patient had previously lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo before travelling through Uganda and arriving in Nairobi on 3 October. He died two days later.
The cases have raised concerns about the potential spread of Ebola in East Africa, particularly given population mobility between Kenya, Uganda and the Congo.
Congolese health authorities reported more than 9,000 Ebola infections and over 4,000 deaths as of 14 October. Data attributed to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) identifies the outbreak as the second-largest Ebola epidemic ever recorded.
Health authorities across the region are continuing to monitor the risk of cross-border transmission, while Kenya steps up contact tracing and surveillance to contain the latest cases.