Health Minister Aden Duale said a Kenyan man who flew from Kampala to Nairobi on Saturday tested positive for Bundibugyo Ebola and died. Officials are tracing contacts in Kenya and passengers from the flight.
Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case on Tuesday after a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo died in Nairobi, Health Minister Aden Duale said.
Reuters said the patient had been ill for about a month, travelled by road to Kampala and flew to Nairobi on Saturday on Jambojet. AP said he arrived on Saturday afternoon, was isolated at Nairobi Hospital, tested positive and died late Monday. BBC said he passed ordinary airport screening and was taken to hospital by a relative.
Duale said the sample was positive for the Bundibugyo species. Reuters and the BBC said there is no proven vaccine or treatment for that strain. Reuters said Kenya has identified 28 contacts and is seeking 27 people from the patient's flight, and that border points are on alert.
Kenya is the third country to record a case linked to the eastern Congo epidemic, Reuters reported. Uganda had 20 cases and two deaths earlier in the year and was declared Ebola-free in August. The Congo outbreak, declared in mid-May, has infected more than 8,000 people and caused more than 4,000 deaths, Reuters said.
Nairobi Hospital has stepped up infection control and staff monitoring, The Star reported. No further confirmed cases in Kenya had been announced by Tuesday evening.
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- Health Minister Aden Duale said doctors suspected a viral haemorrhagic fever from the patient's symptoms and travel history before tests confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola.