A Kenyan man has died after travelling to Nairobi from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where a deadly Ebola outbreak is spreading. Kenya's health minister, Aden Duale, said the man boarded a flight on Saturday and was screened at the airport before being taken to hospital.
The patient fell ill a month ago and had received treatment in multiple hospitals while living in the DRC. He travelled from the DRC to Uganda's capital, where he caught a flight to Nairobi. After being transferred into isolation at a hospital, he tested positive for the virus and died on Monday.
Outbreak toll and strain details
The most recent outbreak was declared on May 15. Since then, Ebola cases linked to the latest Bundibugyo strain have surged to more than 8,000 in the DRC, according to the latest government figures. More than 4,000 people have now died from the outbreak, with a fatality rate of nearly 48.4%, according to the DRC's public health body.
Vaccines against Bundibugyo are being trialled, but there is currently no approved treatment. The disease, caused by the Ebola virus, sometimes known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a rare but severe and often fatal illness that can affect humans and primates. It is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.
Transmission and political context
Ebola spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact, such as through broken skin or mucous membranes. A person infected with Ebola cannot spread it until they develop symptoms.
Last week, US President Donald Trump asked about the Ebola outbreak during a White House press conference. Angolan correspondent Hariana Verás was quizzing Trump about his thoughts on the conflict between the DRC and its neighbour Rwanda when he abruptly asked: 'How is Ebola going?' Verás, who had recently travelled to Congo, said that while the disease is 'under control', according to the WHO director, 'the country still needs some help fighting Ebola.'
The DRC has also been ravaged by internal conflict and displacement of people escaping fighting, and a protracted conflict with Rwanda.
