Kenya has officially confirmed the ninth case of Ebola virus infection in the country, which first registered the virus on October 6. The ninth confirmed case is a 24-year-old man who is a 'close relative of the first case' and became ill while already in quarantine, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health of this African nation.
The first Ebola case in Kenya was identified the day after the death of a businessman in Nairobi, who had previously been in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where an Ebola outbreak was declared in May.
Most cases confirmed so far in Kenya are linked to individuals who had close contact with the first victim. The Ministry emphasized that 'all nine cases belong to one cluster of infection, and there is currently no evidence of transmission outside this group.'
With the discovery of each new case, the contact investigation is expanded: out of 135 registered contacts, 134 have been identified and placed in quarantine, the same source reported.
The United States today warned its citizens about travel to Kenya, advising them to 'reconsider' visiting this East African country.
The DRC is facing its 17th Ebola epidemic, which has become the deadliest in the country's history in a few months. Kenya has become the fourth country to record a case linked to the DRC epidemic, joining Uganda, France, and the Netherlands.
The Ebola virus has also spread to Uganda, where the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on August 26 the end of the outbreak after registering 20 confirmed cases, including 15 imported from the DRC, and two deaths.
The epidemic in the DRC is the second deadliest in world history, causing 9277 confirmed cases, including 4478 deaths, according to the latest report from the Congolese government.
Ebola is highly contagious and is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, such as blood and vomit, or through contact with contaminated materials and surfaces, such as bedding and clothing.