Kenya has detected its eighth Ebola case, with a 49-year-old healthcare facility support worker testing positive while in quarantine, according to the country’s health ministry.
The man presented symptoms including fever, high temperature, headaches and muscle pain, health ministry director Patrick Amoth said in an interview with Citizen TV late on Sunday.
“Today we tested 38 persons, one turned positive,” Amoth said, adding that the patient had been in quarantine since October 9.
He said the man worked as support staff at a health facility, handling duties including laundry, and was likely exposed to the virus in the room occupied by Kenya’s first Ebola patient.
Kenya Records Eight Ebola Cases
Kenya reported its first Ebola case on October 6, involving a businessman in his forties who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a major outbreak has been ongoing since May.
The businessman travelled to Kenya by road and air through Uganda. He died on October 5, according to the report.
The other seven cases in Kenya have involved relatives of the first patient or healthcare workers who treated him. Amoth said the infected individuals were in stable condition.
Uganda Declared End of Outbreak
Neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 Ebola cases and two deaths, with almost all the infections imported from the DRC, before declaring the end of its outbreak in August.
Kenyan health authorities reported last week that they had identified 130 contacts linked to the outbreak. Of these, 128 had been traced and placed in quarantine.
Ebola Death Toll Rises in DR Congo
The outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 9,000 cases, with 4,381 deaths, according to Congolese health authorities.
Kenya’s latest case highlights the importance of contact tracing and quarantine measures as health officials work to contain the spread of the virus.
