Arabic version: كينيا تؤكد أول إصابة بإيبولا بونديبوغيو

According to BBC News, Kenya has confirmed its first case of Ebola, involving a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the past seven years. Health Minister Aden Duale said the patient tested positive for the Bundibugyo species of the virus.

Duale said the patient became ill a month ago and received treatment at several hospitals in DR Congo before arriving in Nairobi. The patient travelled by road to Kampala, Uganda’s capital, then boarded a flight to Nairobi on Saturday. After undergoing normal public screening at Nairobi’s main airport, the patient was taken by a relative to Nairobi Hospital and later transferred to an isolation facility built during the Covid-19 period.

At the isolation facility, the patient developed fever, chills, intense fatigue and weakness, painful swallowing, muscle pain and bleeding under the skin, Duale said. Doctors collected samples after suspecting a viral haemorrhagic fever because of the symptoms and travel history. The patient died at 23:30 local time on Monday. Burial was planned for Tuesday under public health safety protocols.

Health authorities have identified at least 28 contacts, including relatives and healthcare workers, and are tracing a further 23 passengers and four crew members from the flight. The current outbreak is linked to the relatively rare Bundibugyo species, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. The World Health Organization has recorded 4,082 deaths from 8,463 cases since the emergence of the species.