Kenya confirms first Ebola case imported from Congo after man dies in Nairobi

NAIROBI – Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case on Oct 6 after a Kenyan citizen who travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo died in Nairobi.

Kenya is the third country to record a case linked to the Ebola epidemic in eastern Congo, the second largest on record with more than 8,000 cases. Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths earlier in 2026 but was declared Ebola-free in August.

The patient, who lived in Congo for seven years, had been ill for about a month before travelling by road from Congo to Uganda’s capital, Kampala, and then flying to Nairobi on Oct 3, Kenya’s Health Minister Aden Duale told reporters.

After arriving at Nairobi’s international airport, he passed through health screening and was later taken by a relative to Nairobi Hospital. He was admitted with fever, chills and bleeding beneath the skin and was quickly placed in isolation, Duale said.

He died late on Oct 5.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement that it was immediately sending a high-level team to Kenya to provide support, adding that the case “underscores the importance of sustained preparedness across the region”.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X that the WHO was supporting the Kenyan and Ugandan governments and recommended against any travel restrictions on countries affected by the outbreak.

The patient was due to be buried later on Oct 6 under protocols designed to prevent further spread of the virus, Duale said.

The health authorities have identified 28 people he came into contact with in Kenya, including relatives and healthcare workers. They are trying to trace another 23 passengers and four crew members who were on his Jambojet flight, Duale said.

Jambojet, a subsidiary of Kenya Airways, said it was working closely with the authorities.

Duale said Kenya was well-prepared to respond to Ebola cases, having trained nearly 5,000 health workers across the country on prevention and management.

“We have continued to maintain, as a country, a high level of alert for Ebola since the outbreak began in May,” he said.

“With a solid health response, which is what my colleagues expect from the Kenyan government, this will be managed,” Julien Harneis, the United Nations’ senior Ebola coordinator, said.

Nevertheless, the incident raised questions about measures meant to prevent the spread of the virus across borders.

Kenya’s health ministry director general, Patrick Amoth, said the patient may have passed through airport screening because medication masked his symptoms.

It was also not clear how he crossed from Congo into Uganda, given that the border has been closed since May. Africa CDC said he spent a night in Uganda before boarding the flight to Kenya.

Asked about this, Ugandan government spokesman Alan Kasujja said he had no idea what the man’s condition was while in Uganda.

“Leave Uganda out of this conversation,” he said in a text message. “We don’t have Ebola here.”

After the outbreak was declared in Congo, the United States built a 50-bed Ebola quarantine camp for Americans on an air force base in central Kenya.

The facility is currently empty and has only housed seven people. Kenyan officials have said it could receive Kenyans and other nationalities, but the US government has not confirmed that.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, whether living or dead. The disease can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.

The outbreak in Congo was declared in mid-May but may have started months earlier. Caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, it has been blamed for more than 4,000 deaths. REUTERS