Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'Oei during a past event. /FILEThe government has expressed confidence it will contain the Ebola after the Ministry of Health on Tuesday confirmed Kenya’s first case of the virus.
Health CS Aden Duale said the patient, a Kenyan who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), travelled back to the country by road through Uganda before flying to Nairobi on October 3.
Duale said the man presented with “fever, chills, intense fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing, sore throat and bleeding under the skin at the injection sites”.
He said the patient was screened, tested positive for Ebola Bundibugyo and died on Monday night, days after arriving in Nairobi.
The ministry said it identified 27 contacts of the deceased, including family members and healthcare workers, while efforts were under way to trace a further 23 passengers and four crew members who travelled on the same flight as the patient.
“I wish to assure the public not to panic, as all systems are in place to mitigate the spread of the disease,” Duale said.
He added that arrangements for the “safe and dignified burial” of the deceased had been made in accordance with public health standards.
Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing’Oei said Kenya was prepared to respond to the emergence of the virus and expressed confidence in the country’s health authorities.
“Regrettable as it may be, this case attests to the importance of containment capabilities which government had already put in place in various parts of the country to deal with such contingencies. We are confident that our country’s health authorities will deal with this situation effectively,” he said in a statement posted on X.
The DRC reported an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain in mid-May, its 17th Ebola outbreak.
The Kenyan patient, who has not been named, fell ill about a month ago and received treatment in the DRC before travelling to Kenya.
Duale said he was screened upon arrival at the airport in line with health protocols and was taken directly to a Nairobi hospital, where he received treatment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had, as of October 2, recorded 8,463 cases and 4,082 deaths in the DRC since the outbreak was reported.
Uganda, which borders Kenya, reported its first case of the current outbreak on June 21.
The country recorded 20 cases, most involving people who had travelled from the DRC, and two deaths before being declared Ebola-free on August 27.
The confirmation of Kenya’s first case comes months after controversy over a proposed Ebola isolation and quarantine facility in Nanyuki in June.
Residents and activists protested against the planned US-backed facility after the High Court suspended its construction and ordered the government to disclose agreements relating to the project.
Protesters raised concerns over public health risks, transparency and sovereignty, despite Kenya having no confirmed local Ebola cases at the time.
The government defended the proposed 50-bed isolation and quarantine centre, saying it was intended primarily to support US citizens exposed to Ebola in the DRC.
