Kenya confirms eighth Ebola case as regional outbreak spreads

Kenya has confirmed ‌one more Ebola ​case, bringing the total number of infections in the country to eight, Director-General for ‌Health Patrick Amoth said on Sunday.

"Today, 38 people were tested, and one tested positive for Ebola," Amoth said in an interview on Kenya's Citizen ‌TV. "He is a 49-year-old man who is not a healthcare ‌worker. He developed fever, headache and muscle pain."

Amoth said the new case was a patient attendant who cleaned utensils and linens, and he was probably exposed to ⁠Kenya's first ​Ebola case, discovered ⁠earlier this month, in a man who travelled from Democratic Republic of Congo to ⁠Nairobi and died at a Nairobi hospital on October 5. The latest case ​developed symptoms on Saturday, was separated from other people in quarantine, ⁠and was tested for the virus with the result returning positive on Sunday, a ⁠health ministry ​source said.

Kenya has been on heightened alert, as a major Ebola outbreak centered in Congo has spread across borders in ⁠the region. Congo confirmed on Sunday that its outbreak had spread to an eighth province, ⁠North Ubangi, ⁠underscoring concerns about wider regional transmission.