Kenya has confirmed its first imported case of Ebola after a citizen who became ill in the Democratic Republic of the Congo travelled through Uganda to Nairobi and later died, prompting an extensive contact-tracing operation.
The World Health Organization said laboratory samples tested positive for Bundibugyo virus at Kenya’s National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute. The patient died during the night of Monday, 5 October, despite receiving supportive care and was buried the following day under Kenya’s safe and dignified burial protocol.
According to WHO, the patient had been living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and received treatment at several facilities after becoming ill there. The individual travelled by road through Beni to Kampala on 2 October and flew from Uganda to Nairobi on 3 October.
The patient was transported to a Nairobi hospital after arriving in Kenya and was placed in isolation. Reuters reported that the man had lived in Congo for seven years and had been ill for about a month before making the journey.
Kenyan authorities have listed 28 contacts, including relatives and healthcare workers who attended to the patient. Officials are also tracing 23 passengers and four crew members who were aboard the same flight from Uganda.
WHO said Kenya is the fourth country to confirm a case associated with the current Bundibugyo virus emergency. The Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to contend with the main outbreak. Uganda ended its latest outbreak in August, while France reported a travel-related case in June without subsequent spread.
Kenya had been strengthening its preparedness since the outbreaks in Congo and Uganda were declared in May. By 6 October, the country had screened more than 652,000 incoming travellers, tested 267 suspected samples and trained approximately 5,000 health workers in Ebola prevention and management.
Isolation units have been assessed in 27 high-risk counties, while WHO has supplied roughly 1,000 diagnostic tests and 1,000 sets of personal protective equipment. Africa CDC has also dispatched a high-level team to support Kenya’s response.
The case has nevertheless raised questions about cross-border screening. Reuters reported that medication may have temporarily masked the patient’s symptoms during airport screening. Officials have not established in public reporting that the patient infected anyone else in Kenya, Uganda or during the flight.
Bundibugyo virus disease is a severe illness transmitted through direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person, or through contaminated materials. It is not spread through ordinary airborne transmission. WHO says there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo species, although candidate products are being evaluated.
WHO has advised against imposing travel or trade restrictions on Kenya, Uganda or the Democratic Republic of the Congo based on the information currently available. Its immediate priority is rapid contact tracing, surveillance and the detection and isolation of any additional cases before wider transmission can occur.
