Kenya Confirms Four More Ebola Cases

Kenya has confirmed four new Ebola cases, raising the national total to seven, the health ministry said on Saturday. The new patients include another relative of the first victim and three healthcare workers who had treated him.

The East African nation had never recorded a case of the contagious virus until October 6, when a Kenyan man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) died after returning home.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said it “confirms four new cases of Ebola,” a figure that includes the deceased first patient in the overall count of seven. The ministry said the four people “developed fever” and were isolated immediately, before tests returned positive.

“The new cases include a close male relative of the deceased,” the ministry said, adding that the man had been in quarantine since October 6. The three health workers, two men aged 29 and 35 and a 32-year-old woman, had cared for the first patient and had been quarantined since October 9.

On Friday, the ministry had announced a third case: a 65-year-old female relative of the first victim, who is now receiving treatment. Another relative, a 39-year-old man, was already in quarantine after testing positive two days earlier.

Despite the rise in infections, authorities sought to reassure the public. The statement reiterated that “the risk to the general public remains low,” and said there was “no evidence of community transmission.” Of 130 contacts identified, authorities traced and placed 128 in quarantine.

Kenya’s first victim was not named but was described as a 40-year-old businessman who fell ill around a month ago. He was treated in the DRC before travelling overland to the Ugandan capital, Kampala, and flying into Nairobi on October 3. He died there on October 5 after receiving treatment.

The case comes as the DRC battles its 17th Ebola outbreak, declared in May. Congolese health authorities say the outbreak has infected 9,066 people and caused 4,381 deaths so far. It stems from the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is still no vaccine or specific treatment. The disease has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.

Neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 infections, almost all in people who had travelled from the DRC, and two deaths before being declared Ebola-free in August.