Kenya confirms first Ebola case as virus ‘surges’ in DR Congo province

Health minister says 28 contacts identified after death of citizen who arrived from DRC on Saturday

Kenya has reported its first-ever Ebola death, the health minister announced on Tuesday, after a Kenyan man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) died after returning to the country.

While Kenya has previously never reported a case, neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 Ebola cases – almost all people who had travelled from the DRC – and two deaths, before being declared Ebola-free in August.

Duale said the man was suffering “fever, chills, intense fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing, sore throat and bleeding under the skin at the injection sites”.

Duale said officials had listed 28 contacts of the deceased, including family members and healthcare workers, but that so far “only one test has turned positive and is the one that we have just discussed”.

Duale said that arrangements for a “safe and dignified burial” of the man were planned for later in the day in line with public health standards. He did not disclose further details.

After starting in the north-eastern Ituri province, the current outbreak has spread to seven provinces in the north and east.

The virus has hit unstable regions in the vast central African country where armed clashes and violence, alongside a critical lack of resources, have hindered the health response.

Kenyans reacted furiously to government plans earlier this year for the creation of an Ebola facility at Laikipia airbase, about 125 miles from Nairobi.

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