Kenya confirms first Ebola case and says patient has died
Health minister says 28 contacts identified after death of citizen who arrived from DRC on Saturday
Kenya â has recorded its â first confirmed âÂÂEbola case, a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic â Republic of the Congo and arrived in Nairobi on Saturday, the health minister, Aden â Duale, has said.
The patient has since died, âÂÂand 28 contacts âÂÂhave been identified âÂÂso far including family members and health âÂÂworkers, Duale told a press conference.
DRC has been battling its largest-ever Ebola outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo species.
The outbreak was declared in mid-May but may have âÂÂstarted months earlier and has so far resisted containment efforts, with the central African âÂÂcountry recording more than 8,000 cases and over 4,000 deaths.
The outbreak spread to Uganda, which reported 20 cases and two â deaths, but the World Health Organization declared Uganda âÂÂfree âÂÂof the disease in âÂÂAugust.
Ebola spreads through direct contact âÂÂwith the âÂÂbody fluids of âÂÂinfected âÂÂpeople, living or dead. It can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.