Kenya recorded its second Ebola-related death on Friday after a 65-year-old woman, a close relative of the country’s first confirmed patient, died while in quarantine after developing symptoms, the Health Ministry said.
The woman began showing symptoms 10 days ago and was receiving supportive treatment at an infectious disease unit in Nairobi, the capital.
Despite efforts by medical staff to save her life, she died on Friday evening, the ministry said, adding that her family had been informed. Authorities will arrange a safe and dignified burial in consultation with her relatives.
The seven other Ebola patients were receiving treatment at two isolation facilities, while no new infections had been reported, according to the ministry.
Kenya confirmed its first-ever Ebola case on October 6 after a 40-year-old Kenyan man living in Congo travelled to Kenya through Uganda, arriving on October 3. A relative took him to Nairobi Hospital, where he tested positive for the virus on October 5 and died the same day.
Authorities have identified around 135 people who had contact with the first patient, with 118 placed in quarantine. Eight of them later tested positive, including four healthcare workers and four close family members.
The Health Ministry said some contacts who completed the mandatory 21-day quarantine without developing symptoms would begin to be released from Saturday.
Nigerian Patient Had No Travel History to Congo
In Nigeria, health authorities said on Friday that they had yet to establish how the country’s first Ebola patient contracted the virus. The woman tested positive after returning to Abuja, the capital, from Uganda.
Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) told The Associated Press that the woman, who is married to a Swiss diplomat in Nigeria and had travelled with him, had not visited Congo. She was believed to have contracted the virus while travelling to Uganda, the department said.
Her husband had shown no symptoms and remained in isolation, according to the FDFA.
Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Pate said the patient’s infection appeared to have similarities to Kenya’s first case. However, he noted that further findings could alter current understanding of how the virus had spread, as the pathogen takes time to undergo changes.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) earlier reported that the first patients in both Nigeria and Kenya had travelled through Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport on October 3.
US Tightens Screening for International Travellers
US health authorities have introduced additional screening requirements for international passengers travelling to the United States amid concerns over the outbreak.
Under the new protocol announced this week, all passengers boarding international flights to the US, regardless of their point of departure, must sign a declaration confirming they have not been in Congo during the previous 21 days.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday that travellers who had visited Congo within the three weeks before their planned journey would not be permitted to board flights bound for the United States, including American citizens.
Ebola is a highly contagious disease transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, such as blood and vomit, or through contaminated materials and surfaces, including bedding and clothing.
Congo is facing its deadliest Ebola outbreak, with at least 4,000 deaths reported since May, according to the report.