Kenya has confirmed its first imported Ebola case after a citizen who travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo died while receiving treatment in Nairobi.
Health Minister Aden Duale said the patient arrived in Kenya on Saturday, 3 October, after travelling through Uganda. He was isolated and treated at Nairobi Hospital after developing symptoms and testing positive for Ebola, according to the Associated Press. He died late on Monday.
Duale said health authorities had identified 28 close contacts, including relatives and healthcare workers. Officials are also tracing other people who travelled on the patient’s flight, AP reported. These are people being followed up after a possible exposure; they are not additional confirmed cases.
Reuters reported that the case is linked to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo. Kenya had already strengthened border screening, testing capacity, and isolation arrangements in response to the regional outbreak, according to its Ministry of Health.
The World Health Organization has recorded thousands of cases in Congo during the current outbreak and previously documented imported cases elsewhere. Its published figures predate Kenya’s announcement, so they should not be read as an updated count that includes this patient.
For now, Kenyan officials have announced one confirmed case. The next key development is whether contact tracing identifies any further infections.
