Kenya Reports Second Ebola Death as Ministry Says No Community Spread

Kenya has announced its second Ebola death in the current outbreak, with the Ministry of Health saying there is no evidence that the disease has spread through the wider community.

The latest fatality was a 65-year-old woman who developed symptoms while in quarantine, according to the ministry. She was a close relative of a Kenyan man who died from Ebola earlier this month.

The ministry said seven Ebola patients were receiving treatment at two isolation facilities. In a separate account of the outbreak, nine cases had been confirmed in Kenya, including the two people who died.

Authorities track contacts

Kenyan authorities have traced 135 contacts linked to the outbreak and placed all of them in quarantine. The Ministry of Health described the confirmed infections as being within “one cluster, with no evidence of community spread.”

Kenya’s first identified case in the current outbreak was a man who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He died at a hospital in Nairobi on October 5.

The source report did not identify the woman who died or provide the locations of the two isolation facilities. It also did not give the status of the confirmed cases not included among the seven patients reported to be receiving treatment.

Regional concern

The Democratic Republic of the Congo declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in May. Since then, it has reported more than 9,000 cases and more than 4,600 deaths, according to the information available.

Nigeria became the fourth African country to report an Ebola case during the current outbreak. Nigeria’s Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said analysis showed that the virus detected there was closely related to the strain found in Kenya’s index case.

Uganda has also announced a travel restriction, saying people with a history of travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo would not be allowed to transit through the country.

Uganda recorded 20 infected people and two deaths before being declared Ebola-free in August. Almost all of those infected had travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The current outbreak has been reported in four countries across eastern, central and western Africa. Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa over the past 50 years.