Kenya's Ebola cases rise to eight as one more person tests positive

Kenya’s confirmed Ebola cases rose to eight on Sunday 18 October after one more person tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain, Director General for Health Dr Patrick Amoth said on Citizen TV.

“Today we tested 38 persons; one turned positive — not a direct health care worker, a 49-year-old gentleman,” Amoth said, as quoted by Capital FM. The man developed fever, headache and muscle pain.

Citizen Digital, which described him as a patient attendant, reported that he has been isolated and is being prepared to receive the compassionate treatment already given to the seven other patients. Amoth said patients receiving monoclonal antibodies are “responding very well”.

The ministry has not said how he was exposed or whether he was among the contacts already under watch. As of Saturday 17 October, it had listed 130 contacts and traced and quarantined 128 of them.

The Ministry of Health reported four new cases on Saturday 17 October, raising the total from three to seven. The only death so far is the first patient, who flew in from Entebbe and died in Nairobi on 5 October.

The ministry has warned that more cases could emerge among quarantined contacts before the 21-day monitoring period ends. Amoth said people in quarantine develop symptoms “much, much later, day nine, day ten”, and that the potential for them to spread the virus to another person is “very, very minimal, literally non-existent”.

“The risk to the general public remains low as there is no evidence of community transmission of the disease,” Amoth said in the ministry’s statement on Saturday.

The government maintains that there are no restrictions on travel, trade or public gatherings. People with fever, unusual tiredness, muscle or joint pain, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained bleeding should seek medical attention immediately. The Ministry of Health’s toll-free line is 719.