A third individual whose contact with the initial patient had already been logged tested positive for the disease while under quarantine, health ministry officials in Kenya announced, noting that the index case — someone who had travelled from Congo — had died within two days of arrival.

According to a ministry statement, the third patient — a 65-year-old woman — had a family connection to the 40-year-old man whose death from Ebola was recorded on October 5. Quarantine measures had been in place for her from 6 October onward, and physical symptoms appeared before a laboratory test returned a positive result for the virus. According to the ministry, she was moved to the Infectious Disease Unit for further care.

A 39-year-old man from the same household was listed in stable condition, health ministry officials indicated.

No evidence of person-to-person spread existed, health authorities stated, given that every recorded infection traced back to the index patient and those affected had been held under quarantine throughout. Transmission occurs when a person encounters the bodily fluids — among them blood and vomit — of someone carrying the virus, or handles items such as bedding and clothing that have been exposed to those fluids.

Fatalities tied to the outbreak in Congo have reached a toll of no fewer than 4,000 since May, while health authorities in Kenya have yet to locate three individuals who came into contact with the country's first confirmed case. Contact-tracing work targeting people who came into proximity with the patient across Uganda and Congo has run into obstacles.

Prior to the case being reported, the individual had been residing in Congo and moved through three provinces where Ebola transmission was active. People who think they may have come into contact with an Ebola patient are being asked by health workers to pass that information along to the relevant authorities.

Speaking to a broadcaster in a recent interview, Médecins Sans Frontières physician Dr. Barbara Muttimos urged the public to be forthright about any potential exposures and to share both their travel history and any symptoms they had experienced. Early detection of the virus raises the likelihood of surviving it, she noted.

Tighter health checks have been put in place at border posts throughout the country, and a dedicated channel at Nairobi's main international airport now handles all passengers arriving from the ten nations linked to the ongoing Ebola outbreak. Travellers passing through the Busia border point into Uganda encountered stepped-up health protocols, including handwashing stations and temperature checks at the crossing.

People living near the border have raised worries about crossing points that operate outside official channels. Richard Onyango, who runs a trading business in Busia town, argued that border screening methods needed rethinking, pointing out that large numbers of people move across through unofficial crossings rather than formal entry points.