Kenya has confirmed four additional cases of Ebola, raising the country’s reported infection count to seven, including one death, according to a statement issued by the Health Ministry on Saturday.
Three of the newly infected individuals are healthcare workers who treated the country’s first confirmed Ebola patient earlier this month.
“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.
The infected medical personnel include two men, aged 29 and 35, and a 32-year-old woman. All three had provided care to the initial patient between October 3 and 4.
The fourth newly confirmed patient is a male relative of the first person who died from the disease. He had been in quarantine since October 6.
According to health officials, all four developed fevers while under observation and were immediately placed in isolation.
Laboratory testing conducted by the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute confirmed infection with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
The patients are receiving supportive medical treatment from trained healthcare professionals. Officials reported that the second and third confirmed patients were stable and responding positively to treatment.
Kenyan health authorities said 128 of 130 identified contacts, or 98.5%, had been traced and placed under quarantine.
Efforts are continuing to locate the remaining two individuals.
Officials emphasised that all four newly identified cases had already been quarantined before developing symptoms, helping reduce the likelihood of further transmission.
Amoth said there was currently no evidence of community transmission, adding that the risk to the general public remained low.
Health teams are also monitoring four relatives who cared for the initial patient during his hospitalisation.
Despite the additional infections, Kenya has not introduced restrictions on travel, trade or public gatherings, with authorities maintaining that normal activities can continue.
According to the ministry, Kenya’s first confirmed patient had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo before travelling through Uganda and arriving in Nairobi on October 3.
He died on October 5.
The reported cases have increased concerns about possible cross-border transmission, particularly because of frequent travel between Kenya, Uganda and DR Congo.
Figures attributed to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control indicate that Congo had recorded more than 9,000 Ebola infections and 4,000 deaths as of October 14, described in the report as the second-largest Ebola epidemic on record.
Kenyan authorities said surveillance, contact tracing and quarantine measures would continue as they work to prevent further infections.
The Health Ministry reiterated that the general public faced a low risk based on the cases identified so far.