Kenya confirms first Ebola case imported from Congo after patient dies
in Nairobi
[October 06, 2026]
By EVELYNE MUSAMBI
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s Health Ministry on Tuesday confirmed the
country’s first imported Ebola case from Congo.
Health Minister Aden Duale said a Kenyan citizen who arrived in the
country on Saturday from Congo via Uganda had been isolated and treated
at Nairobi Hospital. The patient tested positive for the Ebola virus
after developing symptoms associated with hemorrhagic fever.
The patient died late Monday while receiving treatment.
Health authorities have placed the country's border points on high alert
and are monitoring for possible additional cases.
Duale said 28 contacts, including family members and health workers who
cared for the patient, had been identified. Another 23 passengers who
traveled on the same flight from Uganda were being traced.
The contacts will remain in isolation for 21 days and will be released
after testing negative for the virus, the ministry’s director, Patrick
Amoth, said.
The patient will be buried within 24 hours in accordance with
recommended public safety protocols.
The minister said the patient had been living in Congo for the past
seven years and fell ill about a month ago. He was treated at various
hospitals before traveling by road to Kampala, where he boarded a flight
to Nairobi, arriving on Saturday afternoon.
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 Director Amoth said the patient was
screened at the airport but, because he was already undergoing
treatment, the screening process did not detect any symptoms.
The patient’s relatives later took him to Nairobi Hospital in a
private vehicle, where he was immediately isolated.
The minister said Kenya had tested 267 samples at five laboratories
across the country since May, with only one testing positive — the
country’s first case.
Kenya is the fourth country to record an Ebola case in the current
outbreak, which was declared in eastern Congo in mid-May. Uganda
recorded 20 cases and France one. Before Kenya reported its case,
there had been no active cases outside Congo since Uganda declared
its outbreak over in late August.
This is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history. The World
Health Organization has warned it could become the deadliest as it
continues to outpace efforts to track and contain it.
The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there
is no approved vaccine or treatment. Vaccine and treatment trials
are underway in Congo’s Ituri province, the outbreak’s epicenter.
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