Kenya reported its third Ebola infection on Friday in a woman it said was closely related to the first two patients.
The 65-year-old had been in quarantine since October 6, the health ministry said in a statement.
“Once she developed fever, sore throat and malaise, she was isolated and specimen collected for testing,” it added. “She was diagnosed early and is currently receiving supportive care improving her chances of recovery.”
Authorities say Kenya’s cases are linked to the Ebola epidemic in Congo – the second-largest outbreak ever recorded, with more than 9,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths.
Kenya’s first recorded case was a man who had been ill in Congo for about a month, then travelled by road to Uganda and flew to Nairobi on October 3.
That Kenyan man was driven to hospital by a relative and died on October 5.
The health ministry said the second patient was in a stable condition and there was still no evidence the disease was spreading in the wider community.
Fears of screening lapses
Ebola’s spread to Kenya has raised concerns about lapses in screening systems. The first patient managed to cross the border between Congo and Uganda, which has been closed since May, and then pass through Nairobi’s busy Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Kenyan authorities say they have contacted 127 out of the 130 people known to have come into contact with the first patient. They had all been placed into quarantine and efforts were under way to trace the remaining three.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, whether living or dead. The disease can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.
The outbreak in Congo was declared in mid-May but may have started months earlier. It is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments.
Uganda reported Ebola cases in May and June but was declared free of the virus in August. A doctor who returned to France in June from Congo tested positive but there have been no further cases there.