Kenya has confirmed a second case of Ebola, involving a close family member of the country’s first patient, raising fresh concerns over the spread of the virus from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).
The Health Ministry said the second patient, a 39-year-old man, was already in quarantine when he developed symptoms on Tuesday.
Kenya confirmed its first-ever Ebola infection linked to the current outbreak in DR Congo a week earlier.
The patient, a Kenyan man who had been ill in Congo, travelled by road to Uganda before flying to Nairobi on October 3. He died in a Nairobi hospital on October 5.
The case has raised questions about border screening and surveillance in the region, as the first patient was able to cross from Congo into Uganda despite the border having been closed since May.
Kenya is the fourth country to report an Ebola case linked to the outbreak in DR Congo, which has recorded more than 8,000 cases and over 4,000 deaths, according to official figures.
Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths earlier this year but was declared Ebola-free in August.
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In another case linked to the outbreak, a doctor who returned to France from DR Congo in June tested positive for the virus, although no further transmission was reported.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or someone who has died from the disease.
Symptoms may include fever, vomiting and diarrhea, while severe cases can result in internal and external bleeding.
The outbreak, declared in DR Congo in mid-May, is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, a relatively rare variant of the Ebola virus.
The outbreak is believed to have begun several months before it was officially announced.
The latest case in Kenya underscores the challenges facing regional health authorities in containing the outbreak and preventing further cross-border transmission.
