Panic in Kenya after woman with ebola-like symptoms dies

Panic has gripped Kenya after a female passenger from South Sudan died from Ebola-like symptoms on her arrival in the east African country.

Health officials at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) here told Xinhua Sunday that the female passenger on board a Kenya Airways flight was suffering from high fever and had started to bleed.

The female passenger who had arrived from Juba was later rushed to the hospital but died in the evening, an official said.

"We have not established what exactly caused the death but medical officials, including the director of medical services, are carrying out tests to establish the cause," an official said.

The health ministry was expected to issue a formal statement concerning the incident later Sunday to confirm whether the patient had ebola.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Kenya as a "high-risk" country for the spread of the deadly ebola virus which has claimed over 4,000 lives in African countries this year.

Kenya is a major transport hub with many flights from West African countries.