Kenya confirms first Ebola case imported from Congo

NAIROBI, Oct 6 - Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case on Tuesday after a Kenyan citizen who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo died in Nairobi.

Kenya is the third country to record a case linked to the Ebola epidemic in eastern Congo, the second largest on record. Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths earlier in the year but was declared Ebola-free in August.

The Kenyan patient had been ill for about a month before travelling by road from Congo to Uganda's capital, Kampala, and then flying to Nairobi on Saturday, Health Minister Aden Duale told a news conference.

After arriving at Nairobi's international airport, he passed through health screening and was later taken by a relative to Nairobi Hospital. He was admitted with fever, chills and bleeding beneath the skin and was quickly placed in isolation, Duale said.

He died late on Monday.

Health ministry Director General Patrick Amoth said the patient may have passed through airport screening because medication had masked his symptoms.

PATIENT TO BE BURIED ON TUESDAY

Duale said Kenya was well-prepared to respond to Ebola cases.

"We have continued to maintain, as a country, a high level of alert for Ebola since the outbreak began in May," he said.

The patient was due to be buried later on Tuesday under protocols designed to prevent further spread of the virus, Duale said.

Health authorities have identified 28 people he came into contact with in Kenya, including relatives and healthcare workers. They are trying to trace another 23 passengers and four crew members who were on his Jambojet flight, he said.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, whether living or dead. The disease can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.

The outbreak in Congo was declared in mid-May but may have started months earlier. It has infected more than 8,000 people and caused more than 4,000 deaths despite efforts to contain it.

The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no proven vaccine or treatment. REUTERS