Kenya has reported the occurrence of a second Ebola case, identified in a relative of the individual who introduced the disease to Nairobi, originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite this, Kenyan authorities have denied any sign of widespread dissemination of the illness.
According to the Kenyan Ministry of Health, the affected patient, a 39-year-old man, is a close relative of the first case and was already under quarantine and daily monitoring when symptoms appeared on October 13th.
To date, Kenya has recorded two confirmed cases and one death. The first infected person was a 40-year-old man, also from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo), who had traveled to Kenya this month.
When the second case began showing fever, fatigue, and joint pain, the quarantine team isolated him and collected a sample. This sample was confirmed positive in two laboratories, presenting identical results, as explained by the Director-General of Health, Patrick Omoth, in an official statement.
The affected patient is currently in a specialized treatment center, where specialized teams are providing necessary supportive care.
The Ministry of Health emphasized that because he was already in quarantine, the disease was detected in time, stressing that early care increases the chances of recovery and that immediate isolation upon the appearance of the first signs limits the risk of contagion to others.
Kenyan health authorities guaranteed that contact tracing and surveillance efforts are yielding positive results, reinforcing that both cases are linked and there is no evidence of spread in the general population.
The Ministry of Health identified 128 contacts of the first case and, as of October 13th, managed to locate 113 of them. Of these, 108 remain in quarantine in Kenya, subject to daily clinical examinations and temperature measurements for 21 days after their last possible exposure. The remaining five are outside Kenya, and the health authorities of those countries have been informed, said Omoth, while the search for the remaining 15 contacts continues.
Medical teams are evaluating all individuals who came into contact with the second case since the onset of symptoms, including both quarantine personnel and healthcare professionals.
Kenya is the fourth country to report a case related to the Ebola epidemic originating from the DRCongo, a neighbor of Angola. The other countries involved are Uganda, France, and the Netherlands.
The DRCongo reported its 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15th. This is considered the second deadliest outbreak in world history, having caused 9,144 confirmed cases, including 4,410 deaths, according to the latest report from the Congolese government.
The Bundibugyo strain responsible for the current epidemic does not yet have specific medical treatments. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) is developing two vaccines that have already undergone human trials and have shown safety so far, although their development may take several months.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the body fluids of infected individuals or animals and can cause severe hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.