Kenya confirms eighth Ebola case as regional outbreak expands
Kenyan health officials announced the detection of an eighth Ebola infection in the country on Sunday. Patrick Amoth, the Director‑General for Health, told Citizen TV that out of 38 people tested that day, one returned a positive result.
The patient is a 49‑year‑old man who does not work in the health sector. He reported fever, headache and muscle aches, and his job involved cleaning utensils and linens for patients. Authorities believe he contracted the virus from Kenya’s first Ebola case, identified earlier in the month.
He began showing symptoms on Saturday, was placed under quarantine and subsequently tested, according to a source at the Ministry of Health. The ministry had earlier announced four new cases on Saturday: three health workers who had cared for the first Ebola patient—a man who arrived from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and died in a Nairobi hospital on 5 October—and a fourth individual who is a relative of the deceased.
Kenya has heightened its alert level as the outbreak spreads from the DRC. The strain involved is the Bundibugyo variant, for which there is currently no vaccine or specific treatment.
The DRC’s outbreak, which began in May, has recorded at least 9,400 cases and more than 4,500 deaths, making it the deadliest in the country’s history. The epicenter remains Ituri province in the east, accounting for roughly three‑quarters of confirmed infections. On Sunday, officials announced that the virus had reached an eighth province, North Ubangi.
In response, authorities in North Kivu province, where the World Health Organization reports ongoing transmission, will impose a one‑week ban on travelers entering from Ituri starting Monday. Additional measures under consideration include limiting the number of passengers in cars and on motorbikes and suspending large public gatherings.
Neighbouring Uganda previously reported 20 confirmed Ebola cases, 15 of which were imported from the DRC, and two deaths, before being declared Ebola‑free in August.