Kenya announced on Friday, October 23, a second death related to Ebola, that of a 65-year-old woman who died in an infectious diseases unit in Nairobi after developing symptoms during her quarantine. The patient was a close relative and direct contact of the first confirmed case in the country, according to the Kenyan Ministry of Health.
The woman began exhibiting symptoms on October 13 and was admitted the same day to receive supportive care. Her family was informed, and health authorities are preparing a safe burial with her relatives, according to the ministry’s statement sent to the media.
This death brings to two the number of fatalities among the nine confirmed cases in Kenya. The other seven patients remain under care in two isolation centers, and no new infections were reported on Friday. The ministry states that all cases belong to the same known contact group and that there is no evidence of transmission within the general population.
The deceased patient was the third confirmed case in Kenya. She had been placed in quarantine before the onset of her symptoms, which allowed for her immediate isolation and limited additional contacts to be traced.
The first patient was a 40-year-old Kenyan who lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He had arrived in Nairobi on October 3 after transiting through Uganda, then tested positive and died on October 5. The World Health Organization had confirmed the imported nature of this first case and the initiation of contact tracing in Kenya and Uganda.
Kenyan authorities have identified approximately 135 contacts of the first patient and placed 118 in quarantine, according to the Associated Press. The first individuals to complete a 21-day monitoring period without symptoms are expected to begin leaving quarantine on Saturday.
The Bundibugyo strain responsible for this outbreak has no approved vaccine or specific treatment, according to the World Health Organization. Care is based on supportive treatment, while transmission occurs through direct contact with the bodily fluids of a sick or deceased person and with contaminated materials.
