Kenya's Health Ministry Confirms Second Ebola Case

A relative of the first case, a 39-year-old man's infection raises fears of cross-border spread.

Kenya has reported its second Ebola infection, about a week after the first case was confirmed when a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) traveled to Kenya and died two days later in a Nairobi hospital.

The Ministry of Health announced in a statement on Wednesday that the second patient, a 39-year-old man who is a close family member of the first case, fell ill on Tuesday and was already in quarantine when he came down with symptoms of fever, fatigue and joint pain.

Last week's case raised concerns about a breakdown in border screening systems in the region after a patient drove from the DRC to Uganda and flew from there to Nairobi.

List of 3 cases List 1 of 3 Kenya has confirmed its first case of Ebola as a man died in Nairobi after returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

List 2 of 3 Kenya on alert amid concerns over screening after first Ebola death

List 3 of 3 Why Kenya's Single Ebola Death Has Raised Fears of a Wider African Outbreak

Bottom of the list Given that the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has been closed since May due to the virus, it is unclear how he managed to enter the country.

Alan Kasoja, executive director of Uganda's government media centre, questioned how Kenya allowed the man to enter through its airport.

"Leave Uganda out of this conversation. We don't have Ebola here," he wrote on X.

When asked how the patient could have traveled through the three countries without being identified, Patrick Amut, Kenya's director-general of health, said last week that a meeting was planned with officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda and the African CDC to investigate.

Kenya has stepped up its national response to the disease since the first case was recorded in the country. At the time, Kenya traced all people who had been in contact with the patient and reported at least 57 people, 10 of whom were immediately quarantined, Kenyan Health Minister Aden Doyle told reporters on Oct. 7.

Kenya is the fourth country to record an Ebola-related case in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with more than 9,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths, the second largest in the world.

Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths earlier in the year, but was declared Ebola-free in August. A doctor who returned to France from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in June tested positive, but no further outbreaks of the virus were observed.

Ebola is spread through direct contact with body fluids of infected people, both living and dead. This disease can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.

The Ministry of Health said that the second patient is currently in a designated treatment center where he is receiving the necessary care. The ministry added that it would continue to share information on his progress.