Health

Kenya Reports First Ebola Death Amid Ongoing Congo Outbreak

By Today News Hours Editorial Desk

Kenya has confirmed its first ever case of Ebola, a Kenyan citizen who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) for seven years. Health Minister Aden Duale said the patient fell ill a month ago and was treated in several hospitals in DR Congo before dying days after arriving in Nairobi. He boarded a flight on Saturday, underwent normal public screening at Nairobi’s main airport, and was then transferred by a relative to a hospital in the city. The patient was later moved to an isolation facility built during the Covid‑19 pandemic. He developed fever, chills, intense fatigue, weakness, painful swallowing, muscle pain and bleeding under the skin. Doctors suspected a viral haemorrhagic fever based on his symptoms and travel history and collected samples, which tested positive for the Bundibugyo species of Ebola. The patient died at 23:30 (20:30 GMT) on Monday; his burial is planned for later Tuesday in line with public health safety protocols.

More than 4,000 people have died from Ebola in DR Congo this year, making it the second‑most deadly known outbreak of the disease. Shortly after DR Congo declared an outbreak in May, it was also reported in Uganda, where two people have died. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Uganda free of the disease in August. Since then, all known cases of the highly infectious disease have been in DR Congo. This is the first time that Ebola has ever been confirmed in Kenya.

At least 28 contacts, including family members and healthcare workers, have been identified, while health authorities are tracing a further 23 passengers and four crew members who travelled on the same flight. The WHO has recorded 4,082 deaths out of 8,463 cases in the current outbreak, making it the largest ever recorded in DR Congo, where Ebola was first discovered. Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) believes the current toll could be even higher because of gaps in surveillance and testing in the war‑torn country. MSF said the virus was spreading “like a megafire”, with new hotspots emerging in North Kivu province, which borders Ituri where the virus began. Since early September this has “intensified dramatically” with the province now accounting for nearly 40 % of all newly confirmed cases nationwide.