One person died from Ebola in Kenya, the number of contacts increased to 57

After one person died due to Ebola for the first time in Kenya, the number of people determined to have been in contact with the patient increased to 57, and 10 people were quarantined.

Adama Bamba, Andrew Wasike

Kenyan Minister of Health Aden Duale stated in his statement that there is currently no Ebola epidemic in the country, and the only confirmed case was detected in a person from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Duale reported that the number of people who were determined to have been in contact with the deceased person increased from 55 to 57, and 10 of them were quarantined at the National Police Hospital in Nairobi.

Explaining that people in quarantine are being monitored daily for signs of disease, Duale noted that efforts were intensified to identify other contacts and approximately 17 more people were reached.

It was reported that within the scope of the measures taken against Ebola in Kenya, more than 652 thousand passengers were health-screened, 267 samples taken from suspected cases were tested, and approximately 5 thousand healthcare workers were trained on disease prevention and case management.

First Ebola case in Kenya

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, the Kenyan patient living in the DRC traveled by land to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, and then to Nairobi by plane.

The patient, who was isolated in Nairobi after showing symptoms of the disease, was found to carry the Bundibugyo type of Ebola virus in tests carried out at the Kenya National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute.

The patient, who received supportive treatment, died on the night of October 5.

The patient's body was buried on Wednesday at Lang'ata Cemetery in the capital Nairobi, under special health measures to prevent the transmission of the virus.

After DRC, Uganda and France, Kenya became the fourth country to report cases linked to the current Bundibugyo virus outbreak.

Ebola virus can be spread through direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of infected people, as well as through contaminated materials.