NAIROBI, Kenya (Axadle) – Kenya reported its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease after a Kenyan man who had spent seven years living in the Democratic Republic of Congo died in Nairobi, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.
The patient fell ill about a month earlier while in Congo and received care at several hospitals there before making his way by road to Kampala, Uganda. From there, he traveled to Nairobi on a Jambojet flight, landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Oct. 3. Health officials said he was taken straight to Nairobi Hospital, where he was placed in isolation.
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His symptoms included fever, chills, extreme fatigue, muscle pain, painful swallowing, a sore throat and bleeding under the skin. Laboratory analysis by Kenya’s National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute confirmed the infection as Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease.
Doctors provided supportive care, but the patient died Monday. The ministry said arrangements were being made for a safe and dignified burial under Ebola response protocols.
Health Cabinet Secretary Hon. Aden Duale confirms Kenya’s first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola Virus Disease and outlines the response measures underway. The public is encouraged to stay calm, follow official Ministry of Health updates and seek care promptly if unwell. https://t.co/zQbecG7ZYH
— Ministry of Health (@MOH_Kenya) October 6, 2026
Health teams in Kenya have so far identified 28 contacts, among them relatives and medical workers who cared for or came into contact with the patient. Authorities are also working to trace 23 passengers and four crew members who were aboard the Kampala-to-Nairobi flight. Quarantine plans are being put in place for those assessed to be at risk.
The government said heightened Ebola surveillance, which began in May, has included the screening of 652,584 travelers and the testing of 267 samples at five laboratories. The ministry said this remains the only sample to return a positive result.
Kenya has also trained 4,971 health care workers on Ebola prevention and case management, and the government has notified the World Health Organization about the confirmed case.
The imported case was detected as Congo continues to battle a major outbreak of Bundibugyo Ebola. Figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control show Congo had recorded 8,442 confirmed cases and 4,080 deaths by Oct. 2. Another 846 patients were hospitalized in isolation, while 2,213 people who tested positive had recovered.
The ECDC said the latest reporting period added 66 confirmed cases and 38 deaths. Infections were recorded in North Kivu, Ituri, Haut-Uélé and Tshopo provinces.
Ituri has borne the heaviest toll, with 6,370 cases and 2,933 deaths across 28 of its 36 health zones. Across the wider outbreak, 64 of 167 health zones in seven provinces had been affected, the ECDC said.
Congo’s reported totals for cases and deaths remain subject to continuing review and harmonization.
Uganda, where the Kenyan patient passed through before boarding the flight to Nairobi, recorded 20 Ebola cases between May and June, according to its Health Ministry. The World Health Organization declared Uganda’s outbreak over on Aug. 25 after the country went 42 days without a new confirmed case.
