Kenya Records Second Ebola Death as Outbreak Cluster Grows Across Region

Kenya has confirmed its second death from Ebola, as the country deals with the first outbreak of the disease in its history. The health ministry said a 65-year-old woman died after being placed in quarantine. She was a close family member of the first victim, a man who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the ministry, the woman developed symptoms on 13 October while already in quarantine. The first death occurred on 5 October. That patient had fallen ill in September and was treated at several hospitals in DR Congo before arriving in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where he died a few days later.

Seven other patients are being treated at two isolation facilities. They include three other relatives of the first victim, three health workers and a hospital cleaner. The ministry stressed that all the cases belong to "one cluster, with no evidence of community spread".

The outbreak in Kenya follows a much larger one in DR Congo. More than 4,000 people have died in Africa since Ebola was confirmed in that country in May, making it the second most deadly outbreak of the disease on record. DR Congo has reported more than 9,500 cases. The International Rescue Committee, which is working with both governments to limit the spread, says Kenya faces a steady risk of new cases crossing its borders.

The strain involved is the Bundibugyo species, which is relatively rare. There is no approved vaccine or treatment for it, although trials are under way. Ebola spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit. As it progresses it can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, and may lead to organ failure. Some, but not all, patients develop internal and external bleeding.

Kenya has introduced enhanced screening for travellers arriving from DR Congo and nine other countries it considers high risk: Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. Passengers must complete a digital surveillance form before boarding and show a QR code to port health officials when they land. Aircraft arriving from those countries are also subject to extra public health screening. Within Kenya, the government is running public awareness messages and urging people to report suspected cases promptly and seek hospital care.

The United States has warned its citizens against travelling to Kenya, and neighbouring Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia are on alert.

The outbreak also has a possible link to West Africa. Nigeria's health minister, Prof Ali Pate, said the country's only confirmed Ebola case appeared to be genetically related to a strain identified earlier in Kenya. He said there was no evidence so far that the Kenyan patient had travelled to Nigeria, and that further testing was under way. Officials are examining whether the two first patients crossed paths, as both are believed to have travelled through Uganda's Entebbe airport earlier this month.

Uganda's health ministry announced on Friday that people who have travelled to DR Congo will no longer be allowed to transit through the country, as part of its prevention measures.