KENYA CONFIRMS THIRD EBOLA CASE

Kenya confirms third case of Ebola, a relative of a man who died earlier this month after travelling from DR Congo.

The full report

Kenya has confirmed a third case of Ebola, a 65-year-old female patient who is a close relative of the first and second cases. The patient was in quarantine since October 6 and developed symptoms, including fever, sore throat, and malaise, before being isolated and tested positive for the virus.

The latest confirmed case is linked to the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which is the second-largest on record globally with over 9,000 cases and over 4,300 deaths since it was officially detected in May.

Kenya's Health Ministry has reassured the public that there is no community spread of the disease and that the risk to the Kenyan public remains low. Out of 130 contacts listed, 127 had been traced and were in quarantine.

Efforts to control the spread of the Ebola outbreak have been complicated because the Bundibugyo strain has no licensed vaccine. Research is under way to develop one or more vaccines that work against the strain, with some vaccines already in the early phases of testing in humans.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has called for greater transparency in how Ebola response funds are used, citing financial information that indicates more than $700m of donor money is unaccounted for.