Kenya has confirmed its first case and death from Ebola after a man who returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo tested positive for the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, health officials said on Tuesday.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced that laboratory tests confirmed the patient contracted the Bundibugyo virus, which is linked to an ongoing outbreak in the DRC. The man, who had lived in the DRC for about seven years, fell ill roughly a month before his death and sought treatment at several local facilities.
He travelled by road to Kampala, Uganda, before flying to Nairobi on October 3. After routine airport screening, a relative took him to Nairobi Hospital, where doctors isolated him upon observing symptoms of severe viral haemorrhagic fever. He died at approximately 11:30 p.m. local time on Monday, October 5, despite receiving supportive care.
“The patient tested positive for the Bundibugyo virus, a rare Ebola species linked to the ongoing outbreak in the DR Congo. The patient died at about 11:30 p.m. local time on Monday, October 5,” according to the minister and Kenyan health authorities.
Authorities have identified 28 primary contacts, including family members and healthcare workers who treated the patient, as well as passengers and crew from his flight. No onward transmission or positive tests among contacts have been reported so far, though monitoring continues.
The World Health Organization had previously listed Kenya as a country at risk due to cross-border movement with neighbouring nations experiencing outbreaks. Kenya had recorded no previous cases of the Bundibugyo virus disease before this imported case.
