Kenya confirms its second Ebola death
A 65-year-old woman who was in quarantine has died. Kenya now counts nine cases, all tied to one cluster of known contacts, its health ministry says.
A 65-year-old woman has died of Ebola in Kenya, the country's second death in the outbreak. The Health Ministry confirmed it Friday night.
She was listed as Kenya's third confirmed case of the Bundibugyo virus and had been in direct contact with the first person to die. She was already in quarantine when symptoms began on Oct. 13, and she was admitted that day to an infectious disease unit. Doctors gave her supportive care, but she did not recover. Trained teams will bury her with measures meant to protect her family and the community.
Kenya now has nine confirmed cases and two deaths.
The other seven patients remain in two isolation facilities. The ministry says all nine cases trace to a single cluster of known contacts and that there is "no evidence of community spread." Health Director General Patrick Amoth called her death "a painful reminder that Ebola is a serious disease."
Kenya announced her as its third case on Oct. 16, when she was already isolated. The tally has since climbed from three to nine, including an eighth case, a 49-year-old man who had been caring for a sick person. There is no approved vaccine or treatment for the virus, and the regional outbreak has reached Nigeria, which confirmed its first case on Oct. 21.
The ministry's toll-free line is 719, and it also answers on WhatsApp at 0700 719 719. Officials urge people to avoid contact with the blood and body fluids of the sick and to seek care for fever, vomiting or unexplained bleeding, advice that matters most to anyone planning a trip to Kenya or the region.
