Kenya confirms first Ebola case and death as DRC outbreak spreads

Kenya's health minister, Aden Duale, announced on Tuesday that the country had recorded its first Ebola case and death. He said the man, who has not been named, had lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for seven years and was treated there after falling ill about a month ago. Duale said the man then travelled overland to Kampala and flew to Nairobi on 3 October, was isolated at a Nairobi hospital and confirmed positive, and died the night before the announcement at around 1130 in the evening (2030 GMT).

Duale said officials had listed 28 contacts of the deceased, including family members and healthcare workers, and that "only one test has turned positive and is the one that we have just discussed". He said authorities were looking for another 23 passengers and four crew members from the man's flight, and that quarantine arrangements had been prepared. "I wish to assure the public not to panic, as all systems are in place to mitigate the spread of the disease," he said. Duale said a "safe and dignified burial" was planned for later in the day.

The World Health Organization is monitoring the situation in Kenya, UN News reported. WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said the case was "likely imported from DRC" but that more information was not available. He said colleagues on the ground were working with the Kenyan authorities to get more details.

The Guardian reported that as of 2 October, 4,082 people had died out of 8,463 confirmed cases in the DRC since the Bundibugyo strain of the virus emerged, for which there is still no vaccine nor specific treatment. It said this is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC, and that Médecins Sans Frontières warned on Monday of an "alarming surge" in cases in eastern North Kivu province. The outbreak began in Ituri province and has spread to seven provinces in the country's north and east, according to the Guardian.

UNICEF reported on Tuesday that more than 1,900 children in the DRC have lost one or both parents or their caregivers, or been separated from them, since the outbreak was declared in May. It said 1,581 of those children are in North Kivu province, which UN News described as the epicentre of the crisis. "Ebola takes the people children depend on and unravels their lives," said Halimatou Amadou, UNICEF Chief of Communication in the DRC. She said that as of 29 September, at least 2,017 children had been confirmed with Ebola in the DRC and at least 1,062 had died, and that among children under five the death rate was seven in 10, up from six in 10 a few weeks earlier.

The Guardian reported that the response in the DRC has been hindered by instability, including clashes between armed groups, mistrust of authorities that has led to violence against health workers and other officials, and a lack of resources amid huge cuts in international aid. It said Kenya had previously never reported an Ebola case, while Uganda recorded 20 cases and two deaths, almost all in people who had travelled from the DRC, before being declared Ebola-free in August. The Guardian also reported that Kenyans reacted furiously earlier this year to government plans to allow the US to set up an Ebola facility at Laikipia airbase, about 125 miles from Nairobi.