Kenya Confirms First Ebola Case as Patient Dies in Nairobi

Kenya has confirmed its first case of Ebola Virus Disease after a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) tested positive for the virus in Nairobi.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced the case on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, saying the patient arrived in Kenya on Saturday after travelling from the DRC through Uganda.

The patient was isolated and treated at Nairobi Hospital after developing symptoms associated with haemorrhagic fever. However, the patient died on Monday while receiving treatment.

According to Duale, health authorities have so far identified 28 people who came into contact with the patient. They include family members and healthcare workers who may have been exposed during the patient’s illness and treatment.

The confirmation marks a major development in Kenya’s response to the Ebola outbreak that has been spreading in the DRC.

The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo virus, a strain of Ebola that has been circulating in the DRC. The outbreak has become the country’s largest and deadliest Ebola outbreak, with more than 8,000 confirmed cases and over 4,000 deaths reported by early October.

Uganda, which borders Kenya and lies along important regional travel routes, had also reported cases earlier in the outbreak. The World Health Organization declared Uganda free of the disease in August after the last confirmed patient recovered.

Ebola is a severe viral disease that can spread through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, including after death. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting and diarrhoea and, in severe cases, internal or external bleeding.

Kenyan authorities are now stepping up surveillance and monitoring people who may have been exposed to the patient as they work to determine whether any further cases have occurred.

The government had previously warned that Kenya faced a risk of Ebola being imported from the DRC because of cross-border movement and extensive regional travel. In June, Duale told Parliament that Kenya had no confirmed cases at the time and that surveillance systems and response teams were on standby.

The latest confirmation means Kenya has now moved from preparing for a possible imported case to actively managing its first confirmed Ebola infection.