Kenya Reports First Positive Ebola Case—The Fourth Country With A Positive Case Since Outbreak Began

Topline

A Kenyan citizen tested positive for Ebola, public health officials in the African nation confirmed on Tuesday, marking the first positive case in the country and the fourth nation to report a positive case of the deadly virus during a devastating outbreak that has killed thousands in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This story was first published Forbes.com

Key Facts

The patient was identified as a Kenyan citizen who was living in the Democratic Republic of Congo and “fell ill about a month ago and was treated at several hospitals while still in DRC,” Kenya’s Health Minister Aden Duale announced at a press conference on Tuesday.

The patient then traveled to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, by road before boarding a flight to Nairobi that arrived on Saturday.

He was transported by family members to a hospital in Nairobi after arriving, where he had symptoms including “fever, chills, intense fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing, sore throat and bleeding under the skin at injection sites,” Duale said, which doctors identified as a viral hemorrhagic fever.

He was isolated and treated for Ebola, but died at 11:30 p.m. local time on Monday night, Duale said.

Kenyan health authorities identified 28 family members and healthcare workers that were in contact with the patient, as well as 23 people onboard his flight from Kampala, and are currently preparing arrangements for quarantines.

Surprising Fact

The patient underwent a “normal public health screening” at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Duale told reporters on Tuesday, but he passed through without being immediately isolated. “It is potentially possible that some of the medications that he was taking could be able to mask some of the symptoms and therefore give a false positive screening. Meaning you could pass through the system because you have taken a medicine,” Dr. Patrick Amoth, the director general of Kenya’s health ministry added at the press conference. “We believe that he knew that he was unwell,” Amoth added, because his family took him to the hospital in Nairobi immediately.

Big Number

4,080. That’s how many people have died from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the outbreak began in May, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last updated on Oct. 2. A total of 8,442 positive cases have been reported in the country since May. Another two people died from the disease in neighboring Uganda, which reported 20 positive cases in total. France also recorded one positive case in June.

Key Background

Ebola is a disease caused by a group of viruses that were first discovered in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the CDC. The disease can cause a range of symptoms, including “dry” symptoms like fever, aches, pain and fatigue or “wet” symptoms including bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea. It is spread through contact with the bodily fluids of people already showing symptoms of the disease. The current Ebola outbreak began in May in the eastern DRC. It is caused by the Bundibugyo virus—a specific strain that currently has no approved vaccine. The U.S. enacted travel restrictions in response to the outbreak in May, including preventing U.S. citizens who visited the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan from re-entering the country for 21 days.