Kenyan Ebola suspect tests negative as first case confirmed

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 10 Oct, 17:31 · Archive

A Kenyan patient suspected of Ebola has tested negative, easing fears of a second case after Kenya confirmed its first death this week.

A Kenyan patient suspected of contracting Ebola has tested negative for the virus, according to preliminary laboratory results announced Thursday by the governor of Wajir County. The test result eased concerns of a second case in Kenya, which had just confirmed its first-ever Ebola death on Tuesday.

The suspected patient is a 20-year-old man with a travel history from the Democratic Republic of the Congo through Uganda to Kenya. The confirmed Kenyan case, who died in Nairobi, had travelled the same route. Kenya is the fourth country to record a case linked to the Ebola epidemic in the DRC, which declared an outbreak in May. The strain involved is the Bundibugyo virus, for which no vaccine currently exists.

The outbreak in the eastern DRC has killed at least 4,205 people out of more than 8,700 reported cases. Uganda recorded about 20 cases before being declared Ebola-free in July. Authorities in Nairobi are racing to trace contacts of Kenya's confirmed case, while the country also faces scrutiny over lapses in its border screening systems.

How it is being reported

• Kenya: Ebola tests negative as contact tracing continuesTests have come back negative for a person suspected of having Ebola who was reportedly in quarantine at a hospital, following rumours circulating over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, in Nairobi, authorities are racing to trace contacts of Kenya's first Ebola death, reported on Monday. Our correspondent Bastien Renouil tells us more.France 24 · 10 Oct, 17:10
• Kenyan patient suspected of Ebola infection tests negativePreliminary lab results ease fears of a second case in Kenya, after the country reported its first-ever case this week.Al Jazeera · 9 Oct, 00:53

In this story: Kenya · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Uganda · Wajir County · Nairobi

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