Kenya Confirms 1st Ebola Death, Traces 28 Contacts as DR Congo Outbreak Tops 4,114
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Oct 6
Kenya Confirms 1st Ebola Death, Traces 28 Contacts as DR Congo Outbreak Tops 4,114
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Oct 6
Summary
A Kenyan man who had lived in DR Congo for seven years died in Nairobi on Monday night after testing positive for the Bundibugyo strain, marking Kenya’s first confirmed Ebola case and death.
The patient traveled by road to Kampala and flew to Nairobi on Saturday, passing airport screening before doctors suspected viral haemorrhagic fever; officials said medication may have masked his symptoms.
At least 28 contacts — including relatives and healthcare workers — have been identified, while authorities are tracing 23 passengers and four crew members from the same flight.
Kenya has intensified checks at airports and border posts and moved the patient to a Covid-era isolation facility before his burial under public-health protocols.
The case comes as DR Congo’s Bundibugyo outbreak has killed 4,114 people out of 8,544 cases, with no approved vaccine or treatment and MSF warning the virus is spreading “like a megafire.”