Kenya Ebola cases rise to nine as ministry works to contain spread
Dr Patrick Amoth, Health Director-General.
Kenya has confirmed a ninth case of Ebola, involving a 24-year-old man who was already under quarantine when he fell ill.
The Ministry of Health reported that all nine cases remain tied to a single cluster, with no evidence of transmission outside of this group.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Director-General for Health Dr Patrick Amoth stated that the new patient is a close family member of the index case. His positive status was confirmed on October 19.
“The Ministry of Health confirms one further case of the disease, bringing the total to nine confirmed cases, including the first case, who died. The new case is a known contact of the index case and was already in quarantine when he fell ill. All nine cases belong to one cluster, and as of today there is no evidence of transmission outside this group. He was isolated at the first sign of illness, tested, and started on treatment immediately upon confirmation of his positive test result," Dr Amoth said.
The Ministry confirmed that the eight living patients are responding well to appropriate supportive care provided by clinical teams.
"Our patients are improving and responding well to treatment. All eight patients are receiving appropriate supportive care from our dedicated clinical teams. All the patients have improved markedly and are currently stable under strict observation and treatment," the ministry noted.
Dr Amoth told the Nation on Monday that the ministry has traced one of the two contacts it was still seeking, who is currently quarantined at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
“The other person is a Ugandan. We know him by name, passport number, and phone number, but we have not been able to reach him. He is also using a South Sudanese phone number. From our information, he Hasn’t travelled by air through JKIA or any airport. We suspect either he travelled by road or used a panya route, but we have communicated with Uganda,” said Dr Amoth.
Additionally, the country has received 500 doses of medical supplies to support treatment for confirmed cases. On Monday, MOH announced reception of Ebola response supplies valued at Sh83.3 million from the Government of India to support health workers, treatment and isolation centres, rapid response teams and screening at points of entry and health facilities.
The donation included 6,000 protective Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits, 60 powered air-purifying respirators, 30,000 N95 masks, over 86,000 sample transport kits, gowns, gloves, face shields, boots and infrared thermometers. These supplies, said Dr Amoth, have already been distributed across 12 very high-risk and 16 high-risk counties.
Contact tracing efforts continue to expand as new cases add names to tracking lists. As of Tuesday, 34 of 135 contacts (99.3 per cent) have been traced and quarantined, far above the global benchmark of 85 per cent.
Furthermore, a dedicated laboratory has been established at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) Infectious Disease Unit to handle routine tests for Ebola care patients. This facility ensures that KNH’s main laboratory remains free from contamination and can continue routine medical testing for the general public without disruption.
The Ministry emphasised that safety protocols are working effectively, with no reported infections inside quarantine facilities and full protection for all attending healthcare workers.
“Our safeguards are holding. We continue to assess and monitor the infection prevention and control measures in our quarantine and treatment centers and continuously address any gaps as they arise to ensure the protection of healthcare workers as they continue offering the much-needed response services: there has been no spread of infection within quarantine facilities, and every health worker caring for patients is fully protected,” said Dr Amoth.
Dr Amoth also announced that contacts who entered quarantine on October 6 and remain symptom-free are about to finish their 21-day monitoring period, and will begin returning home starting this weekend, October 25.
"We thank them and their families for their patience, their patriotism, and their contribution to protecting not only their families and communities, but also the nation and the wider world. When they return, we appeal to communities to welcome them home with love and open arms: having completed 21 days without symptoms, they pose no risk of infection to anyone. Together, we are on course to bring this outbreak to a complete end,” said Dr Amoth.
Dr Amoth reiterated that Kenya remains fully open, with no travel, trade, or public gathering restrictions in place. The public has been urged to remain vigilant and report symptoms such as fever, unusual tiredness, muscle or joint pains, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, or unexplained bleeding to the nearest health facility or via the toll-free hotline 719.
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