A Kenyan citizen returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo via Uganda died in Nairobi. Authorities identified 28 contacts and are tracing passengers from the same flight.
Kenya’s Health Ministry confirmed the country’s first Ebola case and death on October 6. The Kenyan citizen had lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for several years and fell ill about a month before returning. Health Minister Aden Duale said the man traveled by road to Kampala and then flew to Nairobi, where he died in hospital late Monday.
The Associated Press reported that the patient arrived in Kenya on Saturday, was isolated and treated at a Nairobi hospital, and tested positive there. Kenyan authorities raised alert levels at points of entry and began tracing contacts. Duale said 28 people, including relatives and health workers who cared for the patient, had been identified. Authorities were separately tracing 23 passengers and four crew members from the flight from Uganda.
Contacts are to remain under monitoring and isolation for 21 days. Authorities also said screening at airports had been strengthened. The World Health Organization said it was working with Kenya and had supplied Ebola tests and personal protective equipment.
The disease is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, which is driving the current outbreak in the DRC. AP, citing Congolese government data, reported more than 8,400 cases and over 4,000 deaths there. Before the Kenya case was confirmed, there had been no active cases outside the DRC after Uganda declared its outbreak over in late August.
WHO and health specialists continue to assess the spread and support contact tracing and case detection. The figures in this article follow AP’s reporting: The Hindu separately cited eight family members and 21 health workers, a total that differs from AP’s confirmed overall figure of 28 contacts.