The Ministry of Health has confirmed one new Ebola case in the country, bringing the total to nine (9) confirmed cases, including the first case, who died.

The new case is a known contact of the first case (index case) and was already in quarantine when he fell ill. Authorities insist that all nine cases belong to one cluster, “and as today there is no evidence of transmission outside this group.”

The latest case, a 24-year-old man, is also a close family member of the first case, was confirmed on 19th October. He was isolated at the first sign of illness, tested and started on treatment immediately upon confirmation of his positive test result.

“Our patients are improving and responding well to treatment,” Director General of Health Dr. Patrick Amoth says. “All eight (8) patients are receiving appropriate supportive care from our dedicated clinical teams.”

Dr. Amoth insists that all the patients have improved markedly and are currently stable under strict observation and treatment.

The Ministry said that Kenya has received 500 doses of medicines to support treatment of all confirmed cases.

“We are grateful to our partners for the solidarity and collaboration in our response and remain hopeful of good outcomes for every patient under care. Contact tracing continues to widen. As each new case is confirmed, their contacts are added to the tracing list, and this explains the growing number of contacts.”

As of Tuesday, October 20, 134 of 135 contacts (99.3%) have been traced and quarantined, far above the global benchmark of 85%.

The Ministry also said it had distributed supplies to 12 very high-risk and 16 high-risk counties, including the appropriate personal protective equipment such as gowns, gloves, face shields and boots, sample collection and transport kits, diagnostic kits and thermometers. These commodities, Dr. Amoth says, will enable county rapid response teams to detect, isolate and safely test any suspected cases promptly.

In addition, a dedicated laboratory has been set up at the Kenyatta National Hospital Infectious Disease Unit to handle routine tests for patients under Ebola care, so that the hospital’s laboratory is not contaminated with Ebola positive samples or overwhelmed and can continue serving all other patients without disruption of testing services.

“Our safeguards are holding. We continue to assess and monitor the infection prevention and control measures in our quarantine and treatment centers and continuously address any gaps as they arise to ensure the protection of healthcare workers as they continue offering the much-needed response services: there has been no spread of infection within quarantine facilities, and every health worker caring for patients is fully protected.”

The government is urging every Kenyan to keep following the guidance of the Ministry of Health and to cooperate fully with the response.

“If you or anyone you know has fever, unusual tiredness, muscle or joint pains, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea or unexplained bleeding, report it at once at the nearest health facility or on the toll-free line 719.”