NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya has confirmed its first case of Ebola after a Kenyan national who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the past seven years died in Nairobi.
Kenya’s Health Minister, Aden Duale, said the patient had fallen ill about a month ago and was treated at several hospitals in the DRC before travelling to Kenya, where he died days after arriving in Nairobi.
According to Duale, the patient travelled by road from the DRC to Uganda’s capital, Kampala, before boarding a flight to Nairobi on Saturday.
He underwent routine public health screening upon arrival at the main airport in Nairobi before being taken to a hospital by a relative.
The patient was initially taken to Nairobi Hospital before being transferred to an isolation facility established during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was at the isolation facility that he developed fever, chills, intense fatigue and weakness, painful swallowing, muscle pain and bleeding under the skin.
“Doctors suspected a viral haemorrhagic fever based on his symptoms and travel history and collected samples for testing. The sample tested positive for Ebola Bundibugyo virus,” Duale said.
The patient died at 23:30 local time on Monday, with his burial planned for later Tuesday in accordance with public health safety protocols.
Health authorities have so far identified at least 28 contacts, including family members and healthcare workers, while efforts are underway to trace a further 23 passengers and four crew members who travelled on the same flight as the patient.
The confirmation has raised concern over the potential spread of the virus across borders, particularly because the patient travelled through Uganda before arriving in Kenya.
The current outbreak is being caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, a relatively rare strain of the virus for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 4,082 deaths have been recorded out of 8,463 cases since the emergence of the Bundibugyo species.
More than 4,000 people have died from Ebola in the DRC this year, making it the second deadliest known outbreak of the disease.
Shortly after the DRC declared an Ebola outbreak in May, cases were also reported in Uganda, where two people died. The WHO subsequently declared Uganda free of Ebola in August.
Since then, cases of the disease have been reported in the DRC.
Duale confirmed that the Kenyan national had tested positive for the Ebola Bundibugyo virus, which is highly infectious.
Kenyan health authorities are now monitoring identified contacts and tracing passengers and crew members who may have been exposed during the patient’s journey to Nairobi.
