Ministry of Health confirms four more Ebola cases, bringing total caseload to seven

Ministry of Health confirms four more Ebola cases, bringing total caseload to seven - Medical workers prepare to bury an Ebola victim in DR Congo. (Photo: Dieudonne Dirole/AP/picture alliance)

The three health workers, two men and one woman aged 29, 35 and 32, had been in quarantine since October 9, while the deceased patient's relative had been quarantined since October 6.

The Ministry of Health has confirmed four new cases of Ebola, including three health workers who treated the first patient and a close male relative of the deceased, raising the total number of confirmed cases to seven.

In a statement on Saturday, October 17, the Ministry said all four patients had been in quarantine before testing positive for Bundibugyo virus disease, with the three health workers having attended to the first patient in hospital on October 3 and 4.

The three health workers, two men and one woman aged 29, 35 and 32, had been in quarantine since October 9, while the deceased patient's relative had been quarantined since October 6.

“Since all four new cases have been in quarantine, they were diagnosed early, limiting the risk of further spread of the disease to their families and the general community, improving their chances of survival and protecting the general public from exposure,” the ministry said.

All four patients, the ministry said, developed fever before testing positive at both the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) laboratory.

They are receiving supportive care, with the ministry reporting that the second and third patients were stable and responding well to treatment.

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According to the ministry,  128 of the 130 identified contacts, representing 98.5 per cent, had been traced and placed in quarantine, with efforts ongoing to trace the remaining two.

“This is above the global contact tracing benchmark of 85 per cent required to break the chain of transmission of the disease. Intensive efforts are ongoing to trace and quarantine the two (2) remaining contacts,” the ministry said.

It also cautioned that further cases could emerge among quarantined contacts before the end of their 21-day monitoring period, while maintaining that the risk to the general public remained low.

“New cases among quarantined contacts are possible until their 21-day monitoring period ends; if they develop any symptoms, they will be detected and treated just as quickly,” the ministry said.