Red Cross trains staff as Kenya records its second death from Ebola

As Kenya records its second death from Ebola, with nine confirmed cases, the Red Cross has been training it staff in Nairobi in how to handle victims.

It said the fight to contain Ebola does not end when a patient dies, saying the handling and burial of the body is one of the highest-risk ways the disease is transmitted.

"We are basically just trying to do some bit of simulations. In the country we are the ones who have been delegated the mandate to be able to handle burials of victims as a result of Ebola,” said Dr Paul Olale, Head of public health emergencies at Kenya Red Cross.

“So we are just trying to refresh our teams on the safe and dignified burial to just ensure that the teams are always ready to be able to undertake any case whenever they appear."

Kenya's first case was a man who travelled to Nairobi from the Democratic Republic of Congo ​and died in the city on 5 October.

The health ministry has traced 135 people who had potentially be in contact with him, all of whom were placed in quarantine.

It says the person who died on Friday, a 65-year-old woman, was a close family member of the first victim.

and says the person who died on Friday was a direct contact of the index ​patient.

Kenya's first case was a man who travelled to Nairobi from the Democratic Republic of Congo ​and died in the city on 5 October.

Since then, the authorities ​have traced 135 contacts, all of whom were placed in quarantine.

Olale said all nine confirmed cases are linked to this “index case”.

“The details are quite clear, that based on the chain from the index case, that these are close relatives which basically interacted at one point or another with the index case,” he said.

He added that there have been no new cases reported outside Nairobi.

The ministry said the remaining seven confirmed patients continue to receive care in ‌two ⁠isolation facilities.

More than 4,000 people have died in Africa since Ebola was confirmed in the Congo in May, with the outbreak now reported in four countries on the continent.

You may also like

Brazil: long queues and river journeys mark decisive presidential vote

Thousands of sheep take over Madrid's streets for Transhumance Festival

Gabon restores social media access after an eight-month ban

From the same country

Police dispel crowds with tear gas after 16-storey building collapses in Nairobi

Kenya: huge piles of rubble after high-rise building collapses

Gunfire rocks Ethiopia-Kenya border as hundreds flee

01:00

Brazil: long queues and river journeys mark decisive presidential vote

01:00

Thousands of sheep take over Madrid's streets for Transhumance Festival

01:13

Gabon restores social media access after an eight-month ban

01:02 Police dispel crowds with tear gas after 16-storey building collapses in Nairobi

01:00

Kenya: huge piles of rubble after high-rise building collapses

Gunfire rocks Ethiopia-Kenya border as hundreds flee

01:00

Brazil: long queues and river journeys mark decisive presidential vote

01:00

Thousands of sheep take over Madrid's streets for Transhumance Festival

01:13

Gabon restores social media access after an eight-month ban

01:02 Police dispel crowds with tear gas after 16-storey building collapses in Nairobi

01:00

Kenya: huge piles of rubble after high-rise building collapses

Gunfire rocks Ethiopia-Kenya border as hundreds flee

NEWS

01:08

New Tumaini Ebola vaccine trial launches in Bunia as DRC struggles

NEWS

01:55

Nigeria steps up airport health screenings over Ebola fears

NEWS

01:19

Nigeria's health minister says first Ebola case remains isolated

NEWS 01:18 WHO: Africa facing 'complex' Ebola outbreak after Nigeria reports first case

NEWS

01:49

Nigeria can stop Ebola spread, former disease control chief says

NEWS 01:10 Nigeria's first ebola case sparks shock and urgent concern nationwide

01:30

Nigeria

Nigeria's Tinubu defends policies as he launches re-election bid

01:13

Gabon

Gabon restores social media access after an eight-month ban

01:01 Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia's Riyadh airport partially resumes flights after Houthi attacks