Kenya confirms new Ebola case, total at nine, health ministry says

• Kenya confirmed a new Ebola case, taking the total to nine. The health ministry said the latest patient was a close family member of the first case and was already quarantined.
• Director-general for health Patrick Amoth said all nine cases are in one cluster, with “no evidence of transmission outside this group”. He said 134 of 135 contacts had been traced and quarantined.
• The outbreak is linked to a wider Ebola crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo. The US State Department also raised its travel advisory for Kenya because of health risks.

NAIROBI - Kenya has confirmed a new Ebola case, bringing the total number of infections to nine, the health ministry said on Oct 20.

The ministry said the latest case was a close family member of the first patient and had already been placed in quarantine.

“All nine cases belong to one cluster, and as of today there is no evidence of transmission outside this group,” director-general for health Patrick Amoth said in a statement.

Kenya has been on high alert as a major Ebola outbreak centred in Democratic Republic of Congo has spread across borders in the region.

Kenya’s first Ebola case was identified earlier this month in a man who travelled from DRC to Nairobi and died at a Nairobi hospital on Oct 5.

Late on Oct 19, the US State Department advised Americans to reconsider travel to Kenya and raised its travel advisory level for the country because of health risks.

Amoth said 134 of 135 contacts had been traced and placed in quarantine as of Oct 20. REUTERS