Kenya confirms eighth Ebola case as regional outbreak spreads

Kenya has confirmed another Ebola infection, bringing the country’s total number of cases to eight, Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth announced on Sunday.

Speaking in an interview with Kenya’s Citizen TV, Amoth said 38 people were tested for the virus, with one returning a positive result.

He identified the latest patient as a 49-year-old man who is not a healthcare worker and had developed symptoms including fever, headache and muscle pain.

According to Amoth, the man worked as a patient attendant responsible for cleaning utensils and linens. He was suspected to have been exposed to Kenya’s first Ebola case, recorded earlier this month in a man who travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Nairobi and died at a hospital on October 5.

A source at the Ministry of Health said the latest patient developed symptoms on Saturday and was isolated from others in quarantine before undergoing testing. His result came back positive on Sunday.

Kenya has heightened its disease surveillance as a major Ebola outbreak originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to spread across borders in the region.

On Sunday, Congo confirmed that the outbreak had reached its eighth province, North Ubangi, raising concerns about further transmission across the region.