Kenya has confirmed its first imported case of Ebola after a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) arrived in Nairobi, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has announced.
The patient, who had lived in the DRC for the past seven years, fell ill about a month ago and received treatment at several hospitals in the neighbouring country before travelling to Kenya.
According to Duale, the patient travelled by road from the DRC to Kampala, Uganda, before boarding Jumbo Jet flight number 8523 to Nairobi.
He arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 1:10pm on Saturday, October 3, where he underwent routine public health screening at the Port Health facility before proceeding through immigration.
The patient was then picked up by a relative and a friend and driven directly to Nairobi Hospital in a Toyota Fielder.
“He was quickly isolated in a separate room at the accident and emergency area in the hospital,” Duale said during a press briefing.
He was later transferred to the hospital’s East Wing isolation facility, which was established during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Duale said the facility has intensive care and high-dependency units as well as more than 145 beds, giving the hospital capacity to manage patients requiring specialised care.
The Health CS has since confirmed that the patient died from the disease, while 28 people who may have come into contact with him have been identified, including family members and healthcare workers.
The confirmation comes as the DRC continues to battle a major outbreak of Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus.
The World Health Organization said as of September 23, the DRC had recorded 7,890 confirmed cases and 3,799 deaths across seven provinces. The outbreak had spread to 63 health zones, increasing the risk of cross-border transmission.
Kenya had intensified its Ebola preparedness earlier this year as the outbreak spread in the region, with the Ministry of Health strengthening surveillance at airports and land border points.
In June, Duale told Parliament that more than 71,000 travellers had been screened and 22 Ebola alerts investigated, with all the alerts testing negative at the time.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person or a deceased victim. The disease can cause symptoms including fever, vomiting and diarrhoea and can be fatal in severe cases.
The latest development marks the first confirmed importation of the disease into Kenya during the current DRC outbreak.
