Kenya Confirms First Ebola Case Following Death of Returning Traveller

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Ebola virus.

Kenyan authorities have confirmed the country’s first case of Ebola after a Kenyan national who had returned to Nairobi from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) died from the virus, prompting urgent efforts to trace contacts and prevent further transmission.

The patient is believed to have contracted the disease about a month ago while in the DRC, where he received treatment at several health facilities before travelling overland to Kampala and later flying to Nairobi on 2 October.

Kenyan Health Minister Aden Duale said the patient arrived in Nairobi on a commercial flight and underwent routine public health screening at health checkpoints and immigration desks at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

He was then taken directly from the airport to a hospital in Nairobi, accompanied by a relative and a friend. He was placed in isolation after developing symptoms including fever, chills, severe fatigue and weakness, muscle pain, difficulty and pain when swallowing, a sore throat and bleeding beneath the skin at injection sites.

Duale said samples taken from the patient tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus at both the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) laboratory.

The patient received supportive treatment but died on Monday evening.

The Health Minister urged the public not to panic, stressing that measures were in place to contain the virus. He said 28 people who had been in contact with the patient, including family members and healthcare workers, had so far been identified and were being monitored.

Authorities have also launched efforts to trace 23 passengers and four crew members who travelled on the same flight. Arrangements are under way to quarantine those considered to have been exposed to the virus.

Kenya’s Ministry of Health said the country had maintained a high level of preparedness since the outbreak began, with 652,584 travellers screened as of 6 October.

A total of 267 samples have been tested at five laboratories, including the National Virology Reference Laboratory, KEMRI laboratories in Nairobi and Kisumu, and two mobile laboratories deployed at border points. Only one sample has tested positive so far, the ministry said.

The ministry has also trained 4,971 healthcare workers at national and local levels in Ebola prevention and management, and notified the World Health Organization of the confirmed case in accordance with the International Health Regulations.

The emergence of the case in Kenya has raised concerns among health authorities across Africa over the growing complexity of containing the outbreak as it reaches new areas.

Five months into the outbreak, concerns have increased over its spread beyond the DRC, where the epidemic continues to expand, placing further pressure on a health system already strained by conflict, displacement and shortages of resources.

According to the latest World Health Organization data cited by authorities, confirmed cases in the DRC have surpassed 8,000, with around 4,000 deaths reported and the outbreak spreading across 63 areas.

Nigeria raised its alert level last week amid concerns over the potential arrival of the virus, given the continued movement of people and goods across African borders.

The detection of cases in the Dongo area of the DRC’s Haut-Uele province, near the South Sudan border, has also heightened concerns about cross-border transmission. The outbreak has previously reached Sud-Ubangi province, which borders the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo.

PUKMEDIA