03 / 10
Kenya confirms first Ebola case after death
A traveller from Congo became Kenya's first confirmed Ebola case and later died in Nairobi.
What happened
Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case after a Kenyan citizen who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo died in a Nairobi hospital. The patient travelled through Uganda before flying to Kenya, tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain, and had been ill for about a month.
Numbers
- 28 peopleidentified as close contacts — Includes relatives and health workers
- 23 passengersbeing traced from the flight — Travelled from Uganda
- 21 daysplanned isolation for contacts — Release follows a negative test
Questions
- Why does the strain matter?
- Bundibugyo Ebola has no approved vaccine or treatment, though vaccine candidates are in development.
- Who is being traced now?
- Authorities identified family members and health workers as contacts, and are tracing passengers and crew from the Uganda flight.
- How will contacts be cleared?
- They will remain isolated and be released only after a negative Ebola test, according to the health ministry.
- Where else has the outbreak reached?
- Countries reporting cases include Uganda and France; Uganda had previously been declared free of Ebola in August before Kenya's case.
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The catch
The reports confirm one case, but not whether any onward transmission has occurred in Kenya.
Contact tracing remains under way.