Kenyan health authorities have confirmed an eighth case of Ebola in the country, with the latest patient a 49-year-old man who developed symptoms including fever, headaches and muscle pain.
Gatekeepers News reports that Patrick Amoth, director at Kenya’s Ministry of Health, disclosed the development in an interview with Citizen TV late Sunday.
“Today we tested 38 persons, one turned positive,” Amoth said, adding that the man had been in quarantine since October 9.
According to the health official, the patient worked as support staff at a health facility, where his duties included handling laundry. He was likely exposed to the virus in the room occupied by Kenya’s first Ebola patient.
Kenya reported its first case on October 6, involving a businessman in his forties who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a major Ebola outbreak has been ongoing since May.
The man reportedly travelled to Kenya by road and air through Uganda. He died on October 5.
The seven other cases recorded in Kenya have involved relatives of the first patient or healthcare workers who treated him. Amoth said the infected individuals were in stable condition.
Kenya traces Ebola contacts
Kenyan health authorities said last week that they had identified 130 people who had come into contact with infected individuals. Of these, 128 had been traced and placed in quarantine.
The latest case adds to concerns over the potential spread of the virus through contact with infected patients and healthcare facilities.
Neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 Ebola cases, almost all imported from the DRC, and two deaths before declaring the end of its outbreak in August.
Ebola outbreak in DRC exceeds 9,000 cases
The Democratic Republic of Congo remains the epicentre of the outbreak, with more than 9,000 cases and 4,381 deaths reported, according to Congolese health authorities.
The spread of the virus across the region has prompted health authorities to strengthen surveillance, trace contacts and quarantine suspected cases to limit further transmission.
