Preliminary Ebola Test Negative for Suspected Patient in Kenya

A preliminary laboratory test for Ebola Virus Disease has returned negative for a 20-year-old man being treated in Wajir County, Kenya, the county governor said on Thursday.

The patient had travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo through Uganda to Kenya and was suspected of contracting Ebola. The governor said in a statement that the initial laboratory analysis of the sample was negative.

“I am pleased to report that the preliminary laboratory results indicate that the sample is NEGATIVE for Ebola Virus Disease,” the governor said.

Travel route under scrutiny

The man followed the same route as another Kenyan patient who tested positive for Ebola and later died. Kenya reported that case as its first-ever Ebola case after the citizen, who had become sick in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, died in Nairobi.

The preliminary result has eased concern over a possible additional case in Kenya, although the result has not been described as final. No details were provided about the laboratory, when the sample was collected or the patient’s current condition.

The patient who died was reported to have travelled through the same countries and passed through multiple airport temperature checks. The case raised questions about the status of Ebola in Uganda and the effectiveness of screening systems at Kenya’s borders.

Contact tracing and screening

The World Health Organization is working with Kenyan authorities to trace contacts and strengthen checks for travellers entering the country.

Kenya is the fourth country reported to have recorded a case linked to the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The outbreak in the eastern part of that country has killed at least 4,205 people among more than 8,700 reported cases, according to the source report.

The outbreak was officially declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May and later spread across the border into Uganda. Uganda recorded about 20 cases before being declared Ebola-free in July.

The latest spread was identified as involving Bundibugyo virus, or BDBV. The strain is believed to have moved from animals to humans through a new transmission route, and no vaccine currently exists for it.