Kenya has confirmed its first Ebola infection after a Kenyan man who had spent seven years in the Democratic Republic of Congo died in Nairobi, Health Minister Aden Duale said on Tuesday.
The man had been ill for about a month and received treatment at several hospitals in Congo before travelling by road to Uganda and then flying to Nairobi, Duale said.
He arrived in Nairobi on Saturday and passed routine screening at the city’s main airport before being taken to hospital by a relative. He was later moved to an isolation facility, where tests confirmed he had Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus, the minister said.
The patient died late on Monday and was buried on Tuesday under public health protocols, Duale said.
Kenyan authorities have identified 28 contacts, including relatives and healthcare workers, and are tracing 23 passengers and four crew members who were on the same flight.
The Kenyan government has increased surveillance at airports and border crossings and urged health workers to maintain strict infection prevention measures.
The Ebola outbreak in Congo, declared in May, has spread across several provinces. The World Health Organization has reported thousands of cases and deaths, making it the country’s largest recorded outbreak.
Uganda, which also reported Ebola cases during the outbreak, was declared free of the disease in August after completing the required monitoring period.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person or someone who has died from the disease. The Bundibugyo strain is relatively uncommon and has fewer approved medical countermeasures than some other Ebola strains.
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