Kenya races to trace all contacts after first Ebola death, WHO official says
Kenya is conducting contact tracing following the country's first death from the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Health authorities have quarantined relatives and medical staff who had contact with the victim, who had recently traveled from the DRC.
Why it matters
Rapid containment of infectious diseases is essential to preventing regional outbreaks and protecting public health.
Kenya’s first Ebola death has triggered a race to trace everyone the victim came into contact with, as the United Nations and partners provide full support, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) top official in the country has told UN News in her first interview on the case.
Speaking in Nairobi on Wednesday, WHO Representative Dr. Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo said the coming days would be decisive in preventing community spread of the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, which has now claimed its first life in Kenya.
The victim, a local man who had lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for several years, fell ill there, where a deadly outbreak continues to spread in the east.
He flew to Nairobi via Kampala and Entebbe in Uganda on 3 October, went straight to hospital and died in the Kenyan capital on Monday.
Also covering this story
5 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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Kenya confirms first Ebola case imported from Congo and says patient has died
Kenya confirms first Ebola case imported from Congo after patient dies in Nairobi
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