Kenya reports third Bundibugyo Ebola case, all linked to first patient
Health Ministry says the 65-year-old woman has been in quarantine since October 6 and that there are no signs of community transmission.
At a glance
- Kenya's third Bundibugyo Ebola case is a 65-year-old woman quarantined since October 6 who is a close contact of the first two patients.
- The Health Ministry says there is no community spread; 127 of 130 listed contacts have been traced and are in quarantine.
- The DRC outbreak has more than 9,000 cases and over 4,300 deaths, and the Bundibugyo strain has no licensed vaccine.
Kenya has confirmed its third case of Bundibugyo virus disease, a strain of Ebola, in a 65-year-old woman who is a close relative and primary contact of the country's first two patients, the Health Ministry said on Friday.
The woman has been in quarantine since October 6, the ministry said. After developing fever, sore throat and malaise, she was isolated and tested positive for the virus. She is receiving supportive care, and the ministry said her early diagnosis improves her chances of recovery.
Her case was reported 10 days after Kenya announced its first case and death in Nairobi.
No sign of community spread
Kenya's first patient was a Kenyan man who had been ill in the DRC about a month before travelling by road to Uganda. He flew to Nairobi on October 3, where a relative drove him to hospital, and he died on October 5.
In a statement on X, the Health Ministry said there was no community spread of the disease and the risk to the Kenyan public remained low. Of 130 contacts listed, 127 had been traced and were in quarantine.
No licensed vaccine for the strain
The Bundibugyo strain has no licensed vaccine, which has complicated efforts to contain the outbreak. Research is under way to develop one or more vaccines that work against the strain, and some are already in the early phases of testing in humans.
Kenya's cases are linked to the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the second-largest recorded globally, with more than 9,000 cases and over 4,300 deaths since it was officially detected in May.
Dispute over response funding
The new case was reported as Africa's top public health body and Congolese health authorities called for greater transparency in how Ebola response funds are used. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said financial information provided by aid organisations indicated that more than $700m of donor money was unaccounted for.
Africa CDC director general Dr Jean Kaseya told Reuters that international donors disbursed about $962m to organisations implementing response activities in the DRC rather than to the government. Those organisations reported receiving $228m, of which $127m had been spent and roughly $100m remained available, he said, adding that it was too early to speak of embezzlement.
Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba warned in a post on X that aid groups were required to provide details on funding sources to his ministry or risk being barred from working in the DRC and blacklisted across Africa.
Separately, two health officials told Reuters on Thursday that two Ebola cases had been confirmed in North Ubangi, the eighth Congolese province affected by the Bundibugyo outbreak and one bordering the Central African Republic. Congolese authorities have not yet officially announced that the outbreak has spread to that province.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- Is there community transmission of Ebola in Kenya?
- Kenya's Health Ministry says there is no community spread of the disease and the risk to the Kenyan public remains low. Of 130 contacts listed, 127 had been traced and were in quarantine.
- What is the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola?
- It is a strain of Ebola circulating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where more than 9,000 cases and over 4,300 deaths have been recorded since May. It has no licensed vaccine, though candidates are in early human testing.
- How did Kenya's first Ebola case arrive in the country?
- A Kenyan man who had been ill in the DRC travelled by road to Uganda and flew to Nairobi on October 3, where a relative drove him to hospital. He died on October 5.
