Health & Food
Kenya confirms first imported Ebola case as 28 contacts are traced
The patient arrived from Uganda on Oct. 3 after falling ill in Congo. Kenya and WHO say response teams are tracing contacts; WHO has not recommended travel or trade restrictions based on information available Tuesday.
Executive summary
- The confirmed case: Kenya confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo virus disease after a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo traveled through Uganda to Nairobi. He died on Oct. 5, according to Kenya's Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization.[1][2][3]
- Contact tracing: Health authorities had listed 28 contacts, including family members and health workers, and were tracing 23 other passengers and four crew members from the patient's flight, WHO said on Oct. 6.[2][3][4]
- Risk guidance: WHO said Kenya was expanding surveillance and response measures and advised against travel or trade restrictions involving Kenya, Uganda or Congo based on information available on Oct. 6. The agency said it would continue monitoring the event.[2]
Kenya confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo virus disease on Oct. 6 after a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo traveled to Nairobi through Uganda. He arrived in Nairobi on Oct. 3, was isolated at a hospital and later tested positive at Kenya's National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute, the World Health Organization said. He died on Oct. 5.[1][2][3]
The patient had been living in Congo for seven years and became ill about a month before reaching Kenya, the health ministry said. He traveled overland to Kampala before boarding a flight to Nairobi. WHO said the case was confirmed as Bundibugyo virus disease, a distinct Ebola virus species, by tests at both Kenyan laboratories.[1][2][4]
Kenyan authorities had listed 28 contacts, including relatives and health workers, and were tracing 23 passengers and four crew members from the flight, WHO reported. The figures describe the response announced on Oct. 6; the agencies had not reported a second confirmed case in Kenya in those statements.[2][3][4]
WHO said Kenya was screening people at high-risk points of entry and strengthening case investigation and community risk communication. It reported that the country had screened more than 652,000 travelers since May, tested 267 suspected samples and trained about 5,000 health workers in Ebola prevention and management by Oct. 6.[2][1]
The case is linked to a wider Bundibugyo-virus outbreak in Congo. Uganda had also reported cases tied mostly to travel from Congo, but WHO said Uganda's most recent outbreak ended in August. France reported a travel-related case in June. Kenya is the fourth country to confirm Bundibugyo virus disease in this outbreak, WHO said.[2][3][4]
WHO advised against restrictions on travel to or trade with Kenya, Uganda or Congo based on the information then available, while saying it would keep monitoring measures. The case establishes an imported infection and an active tracing effort; it does not by itself show sustained transmission in Kenya. Bundibugyo virus disease has no approved vaccine or specific treatment, though candidate products are being studied in clinical trials, WHO said.[2]