Technology and Scienceupdated 1h ago3 min read
Kenya Confirms First Imported Bundibugyo Ebola Case After Jambojet Passenger Dies in Nairobi
Kenya confirms its first imported Bundibugyo Ebola case; patient died in Nairobi. Kenyan citizen who had lived in the DRC, returning before illness.
10 outlets told this the same way.
First imported case
Kenya confirmed its first imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease after a Kenyan citizen died following his arrival in Nairobi, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said Tuesday. Duale said the patient had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for seven years, became ill about a month before returning to Kenya, and flew from Uganda to Kenya aboard a Jambojet flight carrying 23 passengers. The patient underwent routine public health screening at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport before proceeding through immigration, and relatives then drove him directly from the airport to Nairobi Hospital where he was immediately placed in isolation.
Duale said the patient subsequently tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola and died, while authorities identified 28 contacts including family members and health workers. The government said it had strengthened disease surveillance at airports and land border crossings in response to the Ebola outbreak in Congo, including measures to improve screening, laboratory capacity and preparedness at health facilities.
Tracing and burial
Belfast Telegraph reported that Health minister Aden Duale said the patient was isolated and treated at Nairobi Hospital after arriving from DR Congo via Uganda, and the patient died on Monday while receiving treatment. Duale said authorities had placed the country on high alert and were monitoring for possible additional cases, and he said 28 contacts including family members and health workers who cared for the patients had been identified. Duale said the contacts would remain in isolation for 21 days and would be released after testing negative for the virus, and he said another 23 passengers who travelled on the same flight from Uganda were being traced.
Duale said the patient would be buried within 24 hours in accordance with recommended public safety protocols, and he said the outbreak was caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment. The Guardian said Duale listed 28 contacts of the deceased and said so far “only one test has turned positive and is the one that we have just discussed,” while officials pursued a further 23 passengers and four crew members on the same flight.
Systems at risk
Kenya’s health authorities said the patient’s symptoms included fever, chills, severe fatigue and weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing, a sore throat and bleeding beneath the skin at injection sites, and they said doctors collected samples for laboratory testing. Duale said the samples turned positive for Ebola Bundibugyo Virus Disease at both the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the KEMRI Lab, and he said the patient died Monday night despite receiving treatment. The Ministry of Health said it had identified 28 contacts and was tracing 23 additional passengers and four crew members who were aboard the same flight, and it said quarantine arrangements for people considered at risk were being put in place.
The Guardian said the World Health Organization had recorded 4,082 deaths out of 8,463 cases as of 2 October since the emergence in the DRC of the Bundibugyo strain, and it said there was still neither a vaccine nor a specific treatment. Duale urged the public not to panic, saying “all systems are in place to mitigate the spread of the disease,” as authorities prepared a “safe and dignified burial” in line with public health standards.