Red Cross workers carry away the body of a person suspected of dying from the Ebola virus, in the Liberian capital Monrovia, on October 4, 2014. By far the most deadly epidemic of Ebola on record has spread into five west African countries since the start of the year, infecting more than 7,000 people and killing about half of them. AFP PHOTO / PASCAL GUYOT. (Photo credit should read PASCAL GUYOT/AFP/Getty Images)
Kenya has registered its first Ebola death after a Kenyan man who had been residing in the Democratic Republic of Congo died after returning to the country, the health minister said today.
The unnamed individual fell sick about a month ago and was treated in the DRC, Health Minister Aden Duale told reporters, before going overland to the Ugandan capital Kampala and then flying to Nairobi on October 3.
He said the individual was tested and proven positive for the lethal infection. “The man sadly passed on last nite at around 1130,” he said, reports AFP.
Duale said 28 contacts of the deceased, including family members and health personnel had been recorded but so far “only one test has come back positive and that is the one we just discussed”.
“I want to assure the public not to panic as all systems are in place to mitigate the spread of the disease,” he added.
Kenyans have never had an Ebola case and objected vehemently to government proposals earlier this year for an Ebola facility at Laikipia Air Base, approximately 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Nairobi.
The DRC reported its 17th Ebola outbreak in mid May. The disease has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa in the past 50 years.
The World Health Organization said there have been 8,463 cases, including 4,082 deaths, since the Bundibugyo strain of the virus emerged as of October 2. There is no vaccination or particular treatment for the Bundibugyo strain.
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