Kenya has confirmed a second death from Ebola after a 65-year-old woman who was quarantined following exposure to the virus died on Friday, according to the country’s health ministry.
The woman was a close relative of a Kenyan man who became the country’s first confirmed Ebola fatality earlier this month. She developed symptoms while under quarantine and died on Friday evening, health officials said.
Her death brings Kenya’s Ebola death toll to two, with nine confirmed infections since the virus was first detected in the country.
The latest fatality comes as an Ebola outbreak originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to spread across Africa, with infections now reported in four countries across the eastern, central and western parts of the continent.
The outbreak has reached a wider geographical area than any previous Ebola outbreak recorded in Africa.
Kenya’s first confirmed patient was a man who had travelled from the DRC to Nairobi. He died at a hospital in the Kenyan capital on October 5.
Following his diagnosis, Kenyan health authorities identified 135 people who had come into contact with the patient and placed them under quarantine.
Nine infections have since been confirmed, including the two fatalities.
“This loss brings the number of deaths to two among the nine confirmed cases. The remaining seven patients continue to receive care in the two isolation facilities,” the health ministry said in a statement.
Officials stressed that there was currently no evidence of community transmission in Kenya, suggesting the identified infections remain linked to known contacts.
The growing outbreak has prompted international concern and additional travel precautions.
Earlier this week, the United States raised its travel advisory for Kenya, urging American citizens to reconsider visiting the country because of health risks associated with the outbreak.
Nigeria became the fourth African country to confirm an Ebola infection on Tuesday, raising fresh questions about how far the virus may have spread.
Nigerian health authorities are investigating the source of the infection after confirming that the patient had not travelled to the DRC, where the outbreak began.
In Congo, the epidemic has infected nearly 10,000 people and caused more than 4,600 deaths, according to figures cited by Reuters.
Ebola is a severe viral disease that can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in serious cases, internal and external bleeding.
The virus spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people who are showing symptoms.
Health authorities face additional challenges because the rare Ebola virus species responsible for the current outbreak has no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
Public health officials continue to monitor contacts and strengthen surveillance measures as concerns grow over further cross-border transmission.
