Ebola: Kenya cases rise to 8, spreads to 8th Congo province
Quick Look
- Kenya's Health Ministry confirmed its eighth Ebola case, a patient attendant linked to the country's first case.
- Meanwhile, DRC health officials reported the outbreak spreading to its eighth province, Nord-Ubangi.
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Why It Matters
Kenya is on high alert due to a severe Ebola outbreak in neighboring Congo, which is currently facing its deadliest outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus.
Kenya's Health Ministry on Sunday confirmed another case of Ebola, bringing the number of confirmed infections in the country to eight.
News of another patient in the East African state came as health officials in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported that the outbreak there had spread to an eighth province.
What Kenya's health director general said
"Today, 38 people were tested, and one tested positive for Ebola," Health Ministry Director-General Dr. Patrick Amoth said in an interview on Kenya's Citizen TV.
"He is a 49-year-old man who is not a healthcare worker. He developed fever, headache and muscle pain," Amoth said.
He went on to explain that the latest case was a patient attendant who cleaned utensils and linen and had likely been exposed to Kenya's first Ebola case, discovered earlier this month.
Amoth said patients in quarantine were being tested after developing symptoms and that the other six patients were stable after receiving supportive treatment. The first patient died on October 5.
Kenya has been on a heightened state of alert as a major outbreak of the highly contagious disease spread in Congo in central Africa.
Ebola now in 8th province in Congo
Also on Sunday, authorities in DRC said that the Ebola outbreak had spread to an eighth province in the north.
Congo's Health Ministry said that two cases including a death were recorded in Nord-Ubangi province which borders the Central African Republic (CAR).
"We see pockets of Ebola generally going down, but unfortunately geographically it's spreading out," said World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Yakub Janabi in an interview with The Associated Press in Beni, eastern Congo, on Friday.
It's currently the deadliest outbreak in Congo's history with authorities recording at least 9,400 cases, including over 4,500 deaths, in the outbreak declared in mid-May.
The current epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare type of Ebola that has no approved vaccine or treatment.
Ebola is spread between people by direct contact with bodily fluids. It can cause fever, fatigue, and muscle pain, followed by vomiting and diarrhea. Some patients also develop internal or external bleeding.
Open Questions
- Will the outbreak spread to additional regions in Kenya?
- Are authorities able to trace all secondary contacts?
