Kenya reports more Ebola cases, all linked to initial patient
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Kenya reports more Ebola cases, all linked to initial patient
Kenya reports more Ebola cases, all linked to initial patient
Stephanie Soucheray, MA28 minutes ago.
Ebola
Viral Hemorrhagic Fever
Kenya has now confirmed seven Ebola infections in people who had contact with a man who died after traveling from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Kenya during the first week of October, bringing the number of cases in Kenya to eight.
The latest patient is a 49-year-old person who attended to the initial patient and was already in quarantine. At least three other healthcare workers have been infected, as has a family member of the initial patient. So far there is no sign of any community spread.
Over the weekend the Kenyan Ministry of Health said 128 of 130 known case contacts are being monitored in quarantine for 21 days.
“We urge Kenyans to remain calm and stay vigilant as the government is doing everything possible to bring the outbreak under control,” the ministry said in a statement posted to X. “Intensive efforts are ongoing to trace and quarantine the two remaining contacts.”
Children hit hard in DR Congo
The Ebola outbreak in the DRC’s epicenter remains Ituri province. This week, North Kivu is issuing a one-week ban on people entering from Ituri province. Eight provinces have been affected with the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.DRC officials said over the weekend there are now 9,455 confirmed cases, including 4,561 deaths, for a case-fatality rate of 48.2%.
In addition, new data from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) show that 24% of new Ebola patients in the DRC are children, and children face a disproportionately high death rate. In North Kivi, children under 5 years make up 24% of confirmed cases, in Ituri it’s 13%. Infants alone account for 13% of cases in North Kivu and 6% in Ituri.
Moreover, Ebola treatment centers in those provinces are ill-equipped to offer supportive care to children. “General health facilities often lack the specialised expertise, equipment, and infection prevention and control measures needed to identify and safely manage suspected cases,” said Stephanie Hoffmann, MS, a project coordinator for MSF in Butembo.
And novel treatments and therapies, including newly launched vaccine trials, are not being offered to children. MSF is urging to include children in any upcoming Bundibugyo-targeting vaccine trials.
“Treatments, vaccines, and other preventive tools should be evaluated for use in children from the outset of research efforts and made available to them without delay,” said Dr. Guyguy Manangama, MD, PhD, a deputy director of operations at MSF. “Yet in the current outbreak, children are still being left behind, with very limited access to vaccination trials and campaigns, as well as the latest therapeutic innovations despite bearing a significant burden of disease.”