Kenya reports second Ebola case, family member of first patient

Kenya reported a second case of Ebola on Wednesday, a week after confirming its first-ever infection linked to the outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

The second patient, a 39-year-old man and close family member of the first case, was already in quarantine when he developed symptoms on Tuesday, the health ministry said.

The first patient, a Kenyan man who had been ill in Congo, travelled by road to Uganda before flying to Nairobi on October 3. He died in a Nairobi hospital on October 5.

The case has raised concerns about border screening in the region, as the patient was able to cross from Congo into Uganda despite the border having been closed since May.

Kenya is the fourth country to report a case linked to the Ebola outbreak in Congo, one of the largest recorded globally, with more than 8,000 cases and over 4,000 deaths.

Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths earlier this year but was declared Ebola-free in August. A doctor who returned to France from Congo in June also tested positive, although no further transmission was reported.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, with severe cases causing internal and external bleeding.

The outbreak, declared in Congo in mid-May, is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus and may have begun months earlier.