NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya has confirmed its first Ebola case after a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo returned to the country and later died from the disease, Health Minister Aden Duale said Tuesday.
The patient arrived in Nairobi on Saturday after traveling from Congo through Uganda and was later admitted to hospital after developing symptoms consistent with Ebola. Tests confirmed the infection before the patient died Monday while receiving treatment in Nairobi.
Health authorities have so far identified 28 people who had contact with the patient, including family members and health workers. Officials are also tracing passengers who traveled on the same flight as the patient as they work to determine whether anyone else may have been exposed.
Those identified as contacts will be monitored for 21 days, the maximum incubation period used for Ebola contact tracing. Kenyan authorities have raised the country’s alert level and are strengthening surveillance and preparedness measures as they try to prevent local transmission.
The case is linked to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, which has been driven by the Bundibugyo species of the virus. The outbreak, declared in May, has become the largest Ebola outbreak recorded in Congo, with more than 8,000 confirmed cases and more than 4,000 deaths reported, according to recent health data.
The outbreak has already crossed international borders. Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths before the World Health Organization declared the country free of the disease in August. France also recorded a case linked to the outbreak.
The Bundibugyo species is particularly difficult to control because there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for it. Researchers and health agencies are testing possible treatments while response teams continue vaccination, surveillance and contact tracing efforts in affected areas of Congo.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, including after death. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting and diarrhea and, in severe cases, internal or external bleeding.
Kenyan authorities are expected to continue monitoring the identified contacts and tracing other people who may have been exposed as they seek to contain the virus before it gains a foothold in the country.
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