Kenya has confirmed its first imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease after a Kenyan man who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for seven years died in Nairobi.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the patient died on Monday at 11.30pm after being placed in isolation and receiving supportive treatment at Nairobi Hospital.
'The Ministry of Health wishes to inform members of the public that it has confirmed the first imported case of Ebola. This patient is a Kenyan citizen who has been living in DRC for the past 7 years,' he said
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, October 6, Duale said the patient had been living in the DRC for seven years and fell ill about a month before returning to Kenya.
The patient sought medical care at several hospitals in the DRC before starting his journey back home.
Duale said he travelled by road from the DRC to Uganda before boarding a Jumbo Jet flight carrying 23 passengers.
The flight landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Saturday, October 3, at 1:10pm.
The CS said the patient underwent routine public health screening at the airport before proceeding to the immigration desk.
He was then picked up by relatives and friends and driven directly to Nairobi Hospital in a Toyota Fielder, where he was immediately isolated in a separate room.
Duale said the patient presented with fever, chills, intense fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, pain while swallowing, sore throat and bleeding under the skin at the injection site.
“Based on the above presentation and history of travel to DRC, the doctors consider his case as that of a viral hemolytic fever,” Duale said.
Samples collected from the patient were tested at both the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute laboratory, with both confirming Ebola.
The patient was placed on supportive treatment but died at about 11:30pm on Monday.
“We take this opportunity to pass our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the departed,” Duale said, adding that arrangements for a safe and dignified burial were under way.
The Ministry of Health has identified 28 contacts linked to the patient, including family members and healthcare workers who attended to him.
The ministry is also tracing 23 passengers and four crew members who travelled on the same flight as the patient.
Duale said Kenya had screened 652,584 travellers since May and tested 267 samples through five laboratories as part of its surveillance efforts.
He said only one test had returned positive since the surveillance exercise began.
The ministry has also trained 4,971 healthcare workers on Ebola prevention and management and notified the World Health Organization about the case.
“I wish to assure the public not to panic, as all systems are in place to mitigate the spread of the disease,” Duale said.
The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the DRC was declared on May 15, 2026, with the Africa CDC reporting eight confirmed cases at the time.
According to the Africa CDC, the DRC has since recorded 8,300 confirmed infections and 4,018 deaths in the ongoing Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak.