Kenya has confirmed its first Ebola case and death after a Kenyan national who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for seven years died in Nairobi.
Health Minister Aden Duale said the patient, who had been ill for about a month and received treatment at several hospitals in the DRC, travelled to Kenya on Saturday before being taken to a hospital in Nairobi.
According to Duale, the patient travelled by road from the DRC to Kampala, Uganda, before boarding a flight to Nairobi. He underwent routine screening at the airport and was later taken to hospital by a relative.
The patient was subsequently moved to an isolation facility established during the COVID-19 pandemic after doctors suspected a viral haemorrhagic fever based on his symptoms and travel history.
Duale said the patient developed fever, chills, severe fatigue and weakness, painful swallowing, muscle pain and bleeding beneath the skin. Laboratory tests later confirmed infection with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
The patient died at 23:30 local time on Monday, with his burial scheduled for Tuesday under public health safety protocols.
Health authorities have identified at least 28 contacts, including family members and healthcare workers. Officials are also tracing 23 passengers and four crew members who were on the same flight as the patient.
The Ebola outbreak began in the DRC, where the World Health Organisation has recorded 8,463 cases and 4,082 deaths in the current outbreak. Uganda also reported cases earlier in the year, but the WHO declared the country free of Ebola in August.
The Bundibugyo strain is relatively rare, and there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment specifically for it, although several vaccines are under development.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned that the outbreak may be spreading rapidly, particularly in North Kivu province, which borders Ituri, where the outbreak began.
MSF said the spread in North Kivu had intensified since early September, with the province accounting for nearly 40 per cent of newly confirmed cases nationwide.
Ebola is a highly infectious viral disease that can spread through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person.
