Third Ebola case in Kenya highlights US failures amid Trump cuts to key services

Kenya now has three confirmed infections of Bundibugyo ebolavirus, the first group of Ebola cases the country has recorded. They come as the region's outbreak, the second largest ever, has killed over 4,300 people and made more than 9,000 ill. The cases put a spotlight on how far American involvement has shrunk, through deep cuts to global health programs, withdrawal from the World Health Organization in January, and a disputed quarantine site for returning Americans, according to The Guardian.

The first patient, a Kenyan man, became sick in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, passed through Uganda by road, flew into Nairobi on 3 October and died in a hospital two days later. A 39-year-old relative developed symptoms while in quarantine, and a 65-year-old woman from the same family was confirmed Friday. Officials say tracing is working, with about 108 people quarantined in Nairobi.

The quarantine center at the Laikipia air base has drawn protests and a court-ordered halt, with a ruling due in November. Allan Maleche of the Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network on HIV and Aids says public trust in official Ebola information has eroded. Jennifer Nuzzo of Brown University questions why American treatment units sit empty.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Guardian’s reporting. Read the full story at The Guardian →