Kenya has confirmed its eighth case of Ebola as health authorities step up efforts to contain the outbreak and prevent further transmission.
The latest case involves a 49 year old man who reportedly developed symptoms including fever, headaches and muscle pain. Kenya’s Health Ministry Director-General, Patrick Amoth, confirmed the development during an interview on Sunday.
Patrick Amoth said the man tested positive after health officials screened 38 people.
“Today we tested 38 persons, one turned positive,” he said.
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According to the health official, the patient worked as support staff at a health facility, where his responsibilities included handling laundry. He had reportedly been in quarantine since October 9, after being identified as someone who may have been exposed to the virus.
Patrick Amoth said the man was believed to have contracted the infection through exposure in the room used by Kenya’s first confirmed Ebola patient.
Kenya’s first case was reported on October 6 and involved a businessman in his forties who had previously lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a major Ebola outbreak has been ongoing since May. He reportedly travelled through Uganda before arriving in Kenya and died on October 5.
The seven other confirmed cases in Kenya have involved relatives of the initial patient and healthcare workers who treated him. Amoth said the other patients were in stable condition.
Meanwhile, authorities have identified 130 people who had contact with infected individuals. Of that number, 128 had been traced and placed in quarantine, while efforts continued to locate the remaining two contacts.
The outbreak has also raised concerns across the region. Neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 cases and two deaths before declaring the end of its outbreak in August. Most of its cases were reportedly linked to infections imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health authorities have reported more than 9,000 cases and 4,381 deaths since the outbreak began.
Kenyan authorities are continuing testing, contact tracing and monitoring of exposed individuals as they work to limit further infections.
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