Kenya confirms ninth Ebola case, a 24-year-old man who was already in quarantine

Kenya's Ministry of Health confirmed a ninth Ebola case on 20 October. The patient, a 24-year-old man and a close family member of the first case, was already in quarantine when he developed symptoms, KBC reported. Health Director General Patrick Amoth said all nine cases belong to one cluster.

The man tested positive on 19 October, Citizen Digital and The Star reported. Citizen Digital identified the virus as the Bundibugyo strain.

Nine cases are now confirmed and one patient, the first case, has died. The other eight are under treatment and stable. "Our patients are improving and responding well to treatment," Amoth said, as quoted by Citizen Digital.

The ministry said there is no evidence of transmission outside that cluster. As of 20 October, 134 of the 135 identified contacts, or 99.3 per cent, had been traced and quarantined.

Amoth said there has been "no spread of infection within quarantine facilities", as quoted by The Star.

Contacts who entered quarantine on 6 October and stay free of symptoms are expected to start going home from 25 October, when their 21 days of monitoring end. Amoth asked communities to receive them without discrimination, saying that people who finish monitoring without symptoms pose no risk to others.

The ministry has received 500 doses of medicines for confirmed cases. It has sent protective equipment, diagnostic kits, sample collection and transport kits and thermometers to 12 very-high-risk and 16 high-risk counties.

A dedicated laboratory has been set up at the Infectious Disease Unit of Kenyatta National Hospital. It keeps Ebola tests apart from the hospital's main laboratory so that other patients can still be tested.

Kenya remains open, Amoth said: there are no restrictions on travel, trade or public gatherings.

The ministry asks anyone with fever, unusual tiredness, muscle or joint pain, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained bleeding to go to the nearest health facility or call the toll-free line 719.