Kenya has confirmed a second case of Ebola, a week after reporting its first-ever infection linked to an outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The country’s Health Ministry announced the development on Wednesday, identifying the latest patient as a 39-year-old man and close family member of the first confirmed case.
According to the ministry, the man was already in quarantine when he developed symptoms on Tuesday.
The first patient, a Kenyan man who had been ill in the DRC, travelled by road to Uganda before flying to Nairobi on October 3. He died at a hospital in the Kenyan capital on October 5.
The case has raised concerns about border surveillance in the region after the patient reportedly crossed from the DRC into Uganda despite the border having been closed since May.
Kenya is the fourth country to report an infection linked to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, which has recorded more than 8,000 cases and over 4,000 deaths.
Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths earlier this year but was declared Ebola-free in August. In a separate incident, a doctor who returned to France from the DRC in June also tested positive for the virus, although no further transmission was reported.
Ebola is a serious infectious disease transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people. Symptoms include fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, while severe cases can involve internal and external bleeding.
The current outbreak was declared in the DRC in mid-May and is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. However, the outbreak may have begun several months before it was officially identified.
The latest confirmation in Kenya has heightened concerns about the spread of the virus across national borders and the effectiveness of regional screening and containment measures.
