Kenya has confirmed its first imported case of Ebola after a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for seven years travelled to Nairobi and later died from the disease.
The Ministry of Health confirmed the case on Tuesday, October 6, identifying it as Bundibugyo virus disease, a form of Ebola. The patient had fallen ill about a month earlier while in the DRC and had received treatment at several hospitals there before travelling onward.
According to the Ministry, the patient travelled by road from the DRC to Kampala, Uganda, before boarding Jambojet flight 8523 to Nairobi. He arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 1:10 p.m. on Saturday, October 3, 2026, where he underwent routine public health screening at the Port Health and immigration desks.
After leaving the airport, the patient was transported directly to Nairobi Hospital by a relative and a friend. Hospital staff quickly isolated him in a separate room in the Accident and Emergency department before transferring him to the hospital’s East Wing Isolation Facility.
He presented with fever, chills, intense fatigue and weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing, a sore throat and bleeding under the skin at injection sites. Given his symptoms and recent travel from the DRC, doctors suspected viral haemorrhagic fever and collected samples for testing.
The samples tested positive for Bundibugyo virus disease at both Kenya’s National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) laboratory.
The patient received supportive treatment but died at about 11:30 p.m. on Monday, October 5. The Ministry said arrangements were being made for a safe and dignified burial in accordance with Ebola burial protocols. WHO later confirmed that the burial took place on October 6 under the country’s safe and dignified burial protocol.
Kenyan health authorities have identified 28 people who had contact with the deceased, including family members and healthcare workers who attended to him. Authorities are separately pursuing 23 passengers and four crew members who travelled on the same Jambojet flight, with arrangements for quarantine and follow-up of people considered at risk.
The government said Kenya had already been maintaining a high level of Ebola preparedness since outbreaks were reported in the DRC and Uganda in May 2026. As of October 6, Kenya had screened 652,584 travellers and tested 267 samples across five laboratories: the National Virology Reference Laboratory, KEMRI Nairobi, KEMRI Kisumu and two mobile laboratories deployed at the Busia and Lwakhakha border points. Only one test had returned positive, the Ministry said.
Kenya has also trained 4,971 health workers at national and sub-national levels on Ebola prevention and management. Two mobile laboratories have been deployed at the Busia border in Busia County and the Lwakhakha border in Bungoma County as part of surveillance measures. The government has also notified the World Health Organization in accordance with the International Health Regulations.
The World Health Organization said it is working with the Kenyan government to strengthen case investigation, contact monitoring, screening at high-risk points of entry and public risk communication. WHO said Kenya has been on high alert since May and has assessed isolation units in 27 high-risk counties.
Health authorities have urged the public not to panic, saying systems are in place to mitigate the spread of the disease. The Ministry has advised people to wash their hands frequently or use alcohol-based hand rubs, avoid close contact with sick people arriving from countries with active Ebola transmission, and seek care at recognised health facilities if they become unwell.
Health workers have also been instructed to maintain the highest infection-prevention and control measures regardless of the condition being treated. The Ministry urged the public to rely on its official platforms for updates and provided the toll-free health information line 719.
Bundibugyo virus disease spreads primarily through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials. WHO says there are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments for the disease, although candidate products are being evaluated in clinical trials.
