Kenya Confirms First Ebola Case After Patient Dies in Nairobi

Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case after a Kenyan national who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for seven years died in Nairobi, according to Al Jazeera. The authorities said the virus had been diagnosed in a man arriving from the DRC and that they were taking measures to prevent any spread, according to the New York Times.

The patient had been ill for about a month before traveling by road from the DRC to Uganda’s capital, Kampala, and then flying to Nairobi on Saturday, Aden Duale, Kenya’s health secretary, said at a news conference on Tuesday, according to Al Jazeera. Duale said 28 contacts, including family members and health workers who cared for the patient, had been identified, according to Al Jazeera. Another 23 passengers who travelled on the same flight from Uganda were being traced, according to Al Jazeera.

Patrick Amoth, director-general of the Kenyan Ministry of Health, said the contacts will remain in isolation for 21 days and will be released if they test negative for the virus, according to Al Jazeera. Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths earlier in the year but was declared Ebola‑free in August, according to Al Jazeera.

The current outbreak, which is the DRC’s 17th, has spread rapidly since it was officially declared on May 15, according to Al Jazeera. The outbreak has claimed more than 4,000 lives, according to figures released by the government on Friday, and confirmed cases have reached 8,300 across seven provinces, making it the worst Ebola epidemic in the country’s history, according to Al Jazeera. The World Health Organization has warned that the epidemic is “far from over” and on track to surpass the regional 2014‑2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, which killed more than 11,000 people, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to Al Jazeera.