Key points
- Kenya’s second death was a 65-year-old woman quarantined as a close relative of the first victim.
- All cases sit in one cluster, with 135 contacts traced and nine cases confirmed.
- The outbreak now spans four African countries, including Nigeria.
Kenya has announced its second Ebola death as the outbreak spreads from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to several parts of Africa.
The Ministry of Health said Friday that the latest victim was a 65-year-old woman who developed symptoms during quarantine. She was a close relative of the Kenyan man who died of Ebola earlier this month.
Seven patients are receiving treatment at two isolation facilities, and all cases are within “one cluster, with no evidence of community spread,” the ministry said.
Kenya’s contact tracing
The first case was a man who traveled from the DRC and died at a Nairobi hospital on Oct. 5. Authorities have since traced 135 contacts, all placed in quarantine, and confirmed nine cases, including the two deaths.
A widening outbreak
The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in May and has reported more than 9,000 cases and more than 4,600 deaths. The outbreak has now reached four countries across eastern, central and western Africa, the widest spread of any Ebola outbreak on the continent.
Nigeria became the fourth country to report a case on Tuesday, and Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said analysis showed it was closely related to the virus in Kenya’s index case.
Meanwhile, Uganda announced Saturday that travelers who had been in the DRC will not be allowed to transit through the country.
