Kenya launches Ebola contact tracing after first imported case

Nairobi, Kenya - The Ministry of Health has scrambled to locate and monitor individuals who may have come into contact with Kenya's first imported Ebola case, following the death of a patient who received treatment at Nairobi Hospital. Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale confirmed that 28 potential contacts, including family members and healthcare workers, have been identified so far.

The Ministry is also investigating 23 passengers and four crew members who traveled on the same flight as the deceased from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda to Nairobi. Duale stressed that arrangements for quarantine are underway to protect the public. This incident has put Kenya's disease surveillance and contact-tracing systems under its most challenging test since preparations began for the regional Ebola threat.

The patient, a Kenyan national who had lived in the DRC for seven years, fell ill about a month ago and received treatment at several hospitals before traveling back to Kenya. He traveled from the DRC to Uganda, where he boarded a flight to Nairobi, landing on October 3. The patient presented with fever, chills, fatigue, muscle pain, and bleeding under the skin, leading doctors to suspect viral haemorrhagic fever.

His sample was later confirmed to be the Ebola Bundibugyo virus. The government has urged the public not to panic, while health officials work to trace the patient's movements and assess the potential exposure of those who came into contact with him during his journey.