Kenya has confirmed its first Ebola case after a Kenyan national who had returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) died in Nairobi.
The man had lived in the DRC for seven years and had reportedly been ill for about a month before travelling by road to Kampala, Uganda, and later flying to Nairobi.
Kenya’s Health Secretary, Aden Duale, said the patient arrived in Nairobi on Saturday and subsequently died.
Authorities have begun contact tracing and quarantine measures to prevent the virus from spreading within the country.
President William Ruto said eight family members of the deceased and 21 healthcare workers had been placed under quarantine.
Health authorities are also tracing 23 passengers and four crew members who travelled on the same flight from Uganda to Nairobi.
Patrick Amoth, director-general of Kenya’s Ministry of Health, said identified contacts would remain in isolation for 21 days and would be released if they test negative for the virus.
Uganda recorded 20 Ebola cases and two deaths earlier this year but was declared Ebola-free in August.
The Kenyan case comes as the DRC battles its 17th Ebola outbreak, which was declared on May 15.
The outbreak has spread to seven provinces, with more than 8,300 confirmed cases and over 4,000 deaths recorded, according to figures released by the DRC government.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the outbreak is far from over and could exceed the scale of the 2014–2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, which claimed more than 11,000 lives, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The WHO has advised against imposing travel and trade restrictions on Kenya, the DRC and Uganda following the Ebola-related death in Kenya.
