Kenya confirms second Ebola case as relative of country's first victim

What the report says

Kenya has confirmed a second Ebola case, according to BBC Africa, in a development linked to the recent death of a man who had travelled into the country from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The new patient is a 39-year-old close relative of the first victim. Health officials said he was already in quarantine when he developed symptoms on Tuesday.

The ministry said early detection improved the patient’s chances of recovery and reduced the risk of further spread. It also said there was no evidence of wider community transmission and urged people to stay calm but remain alert. Ebola can spread through contact with infected bodily fluids, and its incubation period can last up to three weeks, which means exposed people may not become ill immediately.

BBC Africa reported that the first case involved a 40-year-old Kenyan man who died shortly after being admitted to hospital in Nairobi on 5 October, after returning from DR Congo via Uganda. The health ministry said contact tracing was under way after that case, with 113 of 128 identified contacts found by Tuesday and most of them in quarantine in Kenya. The broader context is a continuing Ebola outbreak in DR Congo, where the rare Bundibugyo strain has caused significant losses and there is no approved vaccine or treatment, although trials are in progress.