The Ministry of Health of Kenya has communicated this Friday the detection of a third infection of the Bundibugyo variant of the Ebola virus in the country. It is a 65-year-old woman, related to the first two identified patients, who, like them, remains in quarantine. For the moment, the authorities insist that there are no signs of virus spread at the community level.
"The patient, a 65-year-old woman, is the main contact and close family member of the first and second cases. She has been in quarantine since October 6, 2026, and once she developed fever, sore throat, and malaise, she was isolated and samples were collected for analysis," the Ministry explained in a statement published on social media.
"Since then, she has been transferred to the Infectious Diseases Unit (UDI), where she receives supportive care from our trained health workers," it added.
The Kenyan health department has reiterated, as it did days ago after the detection of the second case, that "the risk of community transmission remains low because there is no evidence of this type of transmission."
"Of the 130 registered contacts, 127 (97.7%) have been located and are in quarantine. This figure exceeds the global reference threshold of 85% necessary to break the transmission chain," the Ministry specified.
Overall, the authorities of Kenya have confirmed so far three infections and one death linked to this strain, the same one that severely affects the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where more than 4,500 deaths and 9,300 cases have already been recorded.