The Kenyan Ministry of Health confirmed the country's first imported case of Ebola on October 6, 2026. The patient, a Kenyan citizen who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for seven years, traveled to Nairobi and later died from the disease. The Ministry identified the case as Bundibugyo virus disease, a form of Ebola. The patient had fallen ill about a month earlier while in the DRC and received treatment at several hospitals before traveling onward.
According to the Ministry, the patient traveled by road from the DRC to Kampala, Uganda, before boarding Jambojet flight 8523 to Nairobi. He arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on October 3, 2026, at 1:10 p.m., where he underwent routine public health screening. After leaving the airport, the patient was transported directly to Nairobi Hospital by a relative and a friend. Hospital staff quickly isolated him in a separate room before transferring him to the hospital's East Wing Isolation Facility.
The patient presented with symptoms including fever, chills, intense fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing, a sore throat, and bleeding under the skin at injection sites. Given his symptoms and recent travel from the DRC, doctors suspected viral haemorrhagic fever and collected samples for testing. The samples tested positive for Bundibugyo virus disease at both Kenya's National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) laboratory.
The patient received supportive treatment but died at about 11:30 p.m. on October 5, 2026. The Ministry said arrangements were being made for a safe and dignified burial in accordance with Ebola burial protocols. The World Health Organization (WHO) later confirmed that the burial took place on October 6, 2026, under the country's safe and dignified burial protocol. The Ministry identified 28 people who had contact with the deceased, including family members and healthcare workers.
Authorities are separately pursuing 23 passengers and four crew members who traveled on the same Jambojet flight, with arrangements for quarantine and follow-up of people considered at risk. The government said Kenya had already been maintaining a high level of Ebola preparedness since outbreaks were reported in the DRC and Uganda in May 2026. As of October 6, 2026, Kenya had screened 652,584 travelers and tested 267 samples across five laboratories.
The government has also notified the World Health Organization in accordance with the International Health Regulations. The WHO said it is working with the Kenyan government to strengthen case investigation, contact monitoring, screening at high-risk points of entry, and public risk communication. The WHO also said Kenya has been on high alert since May and has assessed isolation units in 27 high-risk counties.
Health authorities have urged the public not to panic, saying systems are in place to mitigate the spread of the disease. The Ministry has advised people to wash their hands frequently, avoid close contact with sick people arriving from countries with active Ebola transmission, and seek care at recognized health facilities if they become unwell.
Key points
- The patient traveled from DRC to Kampala, Uganda, before boarding a flight to Nairobi, where he died from Ebola on October 5, 2026.
- The Ministry of Health confirmed the case on October 6, 2026, and identified it as Bundibugyo virus disease, a form of Ebola.
- The WHO is working with the Kenyan government to strengthen case investigation, contact monitoring, and public risk communication.
