Tuesday, October 6, 2026 - Kenya has confirmed its first imported case of Ebola after a Kenyan man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo died in Nairobi on Monday night.
The patient had been ill for about a month, traveled by road from Congo to Kampala, Uganda, and then flew to Nairobi on October 3. Tests confirmed the Bundibugyo virus at Kenya's National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute.
Health authorities are moving urgently to contain any possible spread. Officials have identified 28 contacts, including relatives and healthcare workers, while 23 passengers and four crew members from the same flight are being traced.
Contacts are being monitored for 21 days, as Kenya raises surveillance at airports and other points of entry. The World Health Organization says it is supporting the government's response, while advising against travel or trade restrictions based on current evidence.
The case adds pressure to an already serious regional outbreak centered in eastern Congo, where more than 8,000 cases and over 4,000 deaths have been reported.
Kenya says it has already trained about 5,000 health workers and strengthened isolation and surveillance capacity in high-risk areas. The immediate priority is clear: identify every possible contact quickly, detect any new infections early and prevent the virus from gaining a foothold in Kenya.
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