Kenya has confirmed a ninth case of Bundibugyo Ebola, but health officials say they have found no evidence that the virus has spread beyond the known cluster. In its Oct. 20 update, the ministry described the eight patients who survived as stable and responding to supportive care. The CDC separately recorded nine cases and one death in Kenya as of that date.
The latest patient is a 24-year-old close relative of the first person diagnosed in Kenya, according to the ministry. He developed symptoms while already in quarantine and tested positive on Oct. 19. Officials said they had traced and quarantined 134 of 135 identified contacts as of Oct. 20, while continuing to add people linked to new cases.
The first patient had travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo through Uganda before arriving in Nairobi on Oct. 3. He was admitted to hospital and later died, WHO said. WHO says people with Bundibugyo Ebola cannot transmit the virus before symptoms begin, making prompt isolation and continued monitoring of contacts central to Kenya’s response.
The ministry expects some symptom-free contacts to begin leaving monitoring from Oct. 25. Kenya has kept travel, trade and public gatherings open, according to WHO. The wider outbreak remains concentrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the CDC counted 9,552 confirmed cases and 4,602 deaths as of Oct. 20.
