A 24-year-old man, who was already being held in quarantine, is the latest to test positive, Kenya’s Ministry of Health said in a statement on Tuesday. The man was a close family member of Kenya’s first Ebola patient, who had travelled from the DRC, through Uganda and before arriving in Kenya and dying at a Nairobi hospital on October 5. Amoth said a milestone was in sight for the majority of the contacts in quarantine as they had remained well for the 21-day monitoring period and could return home from October 25.
It appealed to communities to welcome them back, saying they “pose no risk of infection”. The ministry said no infections had occurred within quarantine facilities and that it was continuously monitoring infection-prevention measures to protect health workers. Despite the nine infections, Kenya has not imposed restrictions on travel, trade or public gatherings, with authorities saying the country remains open for business.
In the DRC, there have been more than 9,000 Ebola cases and 4,000 deaths since May. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says it’s the second-largest epidemic on record. It has been difficult to contain because there is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.
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