Kenya on Tuesday confirmed its first case linked to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Africa, the fastest-spreading in history, with a Kenyan citizen who arrived from Congo via Uganda testing positive for the infection.
According to Kenyan health minister Aden Duale, the patient arrived in the country on October 3 and had been isolated and treated at a hospital in the capital, Nairobi.
The person tested positive for the Ebola virus after developing symptoms associated with hemorrhagic fever and died late Monday while receiving treatment.
“Twenty-eight contacts, including family members and health workers who cared for the patient, have been identified. Another 23 passengers who travelled on the same flight from Uganda are being traced,” Duale told reporters.
Kenya's health ministry director Patrick Amoth said the contacts will remain in isolation for 21 days. “They will be released after testing negative for Ebola,” he added.
The patient will be buried within 24 hours in accordance with recommended public safety protocols.
Health authorities have placed Kenya on high alert and are monitoring for possible additional cases.
Kenya is the fourth country to record an Ebola case in the current outbreak, which was declared in eastern Congo in May. Uganda recorded 20 cases and France one. Before Kenya reported its case, there had been no active cases outside Congo since Uganda declared its outbreak over in late August.
The World Health Organization has warned that the outbreak could become the “deadliest” as it continues to outpace efforts to track and contain it.
The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment. Vaccine and treatment trials are underway in Congo’s Ituri province, the outbreak’s epicenter.
