Kenya's Ebola cases rise to eight after new infection
Kenya's confirmed Ebola cases rose to eight after a 49-year-old man tested positive on Sunday. Health officials say he had attended to the country's first Ebola patient and was already in quarantine. Thirty-eight people were tested that day, and only he was positive.
Kenya has confirmed its eighth case of Ebola, a little over two weeks after its first, the Health Ministry said, The Star and ABC News Australia reported.
The new patient is a 49-year-old man who tested positive Sunday, The Star reported. Thirty-eight people were tested that day, and he was the only positive result. He had fever, headache and muscle pain and is not a health worker, the ministry said. Director-General for Health Dr. Patrick Amoth said the man was in quarantine and had attended to Kenya's first Ebola patient, ABC reported.
Kenya confirmed its first case of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola on Oct. 6, The Star reported. That patient, a man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo, traveled to Nairobi through Uganda and died on Oct. 5, two days after arriving. ABC reported he was a 40-year-old Kenyan and that a relative drove him to the hospital.
Since then, more cases have turned up among people linked to him. Three of his close relatives and three health workers have tested positive, ABC reported. Up to 128 contacts of the first patient, including health workers, were still in quarantine as of Sunday. Amoth said six other patients were stable after treatment.
Kenya has stepped up screening at entry points, including Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and set up a toll-free hotline, 719, The Star reported. ABC reported that the first case exposed gaps in border screening. Neighboring Tanzania has tightened border checks and introduced 21-day monitoring for travelers from high-risk countries.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person, or of someone who died of the disease, and through contaminated items such as bedding. It does not spread through the air. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhea.
The outbreak in Congo, where the first patient had lived, is the source of Kenya's cases, ABC reported.
What we know: Kenya has eight confirmed cases, all tied so far to people linked to the first patient.
What we don't: Whether any of the quarantined contacts will test positive in the coming days.
Where outlets agree The Star and ABC News Australia both report that Kenya's eighth case is a 49-year-old and that the first patient came from Congo through Uganda.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.