Kenya confirms four new Ebola cases, bringing total infections to seven

NAIROBI — Kenya confirmed four new Ebola cases on Saturday, including three healthcare workers who treated the country’s first patient, bringing the total number of infections to seven, including one death, the Health Ministry announced.”The Ministry of Health confirms four new cases of Ebola (Bundibugyo Virus Disease). This brings the total number of confirmed cases to seven including the deceased first case,” Health Director General Patrick Amoth said in a statement.The newly confirmed cases involve three healthcare workers — two men aged 29 and 35 and a woman aged 32 — who attended to the country’s first Ebola patient between October 3 and 4.The fourth patient is a male relative of the first person to die from the disease. He had been under quarantine since October 6, according to the ministry.Amoth said all four patients developed fever while in quarantine and were immediately isolated. Laboratory tests subsequently confirmed infection with the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus.The infections were confirmed by the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute.All four patients are receiving supportive treatment from trained medical personnel. The ministry said the second and third patients were stable and responding well to care.Health authorities emphasized that all four new infections were detected among individuals already in quarantine, reducing the likelihood of further transmission.The ministry said 128 of the 130 identified contacts, or 98.5%, had been traced and placed under quarantine, while efforts continued to locate the remaining two.Amoth said there was no evidence of community transmission and maintained that the risk to the general public remained low.Authorities are also monitoring four relatives who cared for the first patient during his hospitalization.Despite the additional infections, Kenya has not imposed restrictions on travel, trade or public gatherings, with officials stressing that the country remains open for business.The country’s first confirmed Ebola patient had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo before traveling through Uganda and arriving in Nairobi on October 3. He died two days later.The latest infections have raised concerns about possible cross-border transmission in East Africa, particularly given the movement of people between Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.