Kenya Confirms First Ebola Case, Identifies 28 Contacts

GOOBJOOG NEWS | NAIROBI: Kenya has confirmed its first case of Ebola after a patient who travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo died while receiving treatment at a Nairobi hospital, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said Tuesday.

The patient, a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the DRC, arrived in Nairobi on Saturday and was taken directly from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Nairobi Hospital by a relative and a friend, Duale said.

Authorities have identified 28 people who came into contact with the patient, including family members and health workers, as health officials begin contact tracing and monitoring.

Duale said the patient underwent routine screening at the Port Health facility at the airport before proceeding through immigration. At Nairobi Hospital, the patient was isolated in the Accident and Emergency area before being moved to an isolation facility in the hospital’s East Wing.

The patient had symptoms including fever, chills, severe fatigue and weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing, a sore throat and bleeding beneath the skin at an injection site.

Given the symptoms and the patient’s recent travel history, doctors collected a sample for laboratory testing, which returned positive for Ebola, Duale said.

The patient received supportive treatment but died at about 11:30 p.m. Monday. The government said arrangements were underway for a safe and dignified burial under Ebola public-health protocols.

The case is linked to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the DRC, where the Bundibugyo virus has caused thousands of confirmed infections and deaths. The World Health Organization’s latest data, covering the period through Oct. 2, recorded 8,442 confirmed cases and 4,080 confirmed deaths in the DRC.

Uganda, which also experienced imported cases from the DRC earlier in the outbreak, recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths before its outbreak response ended.

Kenya had previously intensified surveillance, border screening and preparedness measures because of the regional outbreak. The Health Ministry had said the country was strengthening laboratory testing, case management and border health services in response to the risk of cross-border transmission.

The confirmation marks a significant development for Kenya after months of heightened preparedness linked to the outbreak in neighbouring countries. Health authorities are now focusing on tracing contacts and preventing further transmission.

The WHO declared the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern in May, citing the risk posed by the spread of the disease across borders.