Kenya has intensified surveillance and contact-tracing operations following confirmation of the country’s first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease, with authorities warning that the number of people being monitored could rise as investigations continue.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said Wednesday that 57 contacts had so far been identified in connection with the patient, an increase from the initial 55 contacts identified by health officials.
Of those traced, 10 people have been placed under quarantine at the National Police Service Hospital in Nairobi, where they are undergoing daily monitoring for possible symptoms.
Efforts to locate and assess the remaining contacts have been intensified.
The development comes a day after Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case involving a Kenyan national who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for seven years.
The patient, who had reportedly fallen ill about a month before travelling, journeyed by road from Congo to Kampala, Uganda, before boarding a flight to Nairobi on October 3.
He was taken to Nairobi Hospital shortly after arriving at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and was subsequently isolated after doctors considered his symptoms and travel history.
Laboratory tests conducted independently by the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute confirmed infection with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
The patient later died and was accorded a safe and dignified burial in accordance with public-health protocols.
The contact-tracing operation extends beyond the patient’s immediate family and healthcare workers.
Health officials are also following up on people connected to his journey, including passengers and crew members aboard the flight from Kampala to Nairobi, as well as other individuals who may have interacted with him after his arrival.
The Ministry of Health initially identified 28 contacts, including relatives and healthcare workers, while 23 passengers and four crew members on the same flight were being traced.
The list has since expanded to 57 as investigators obtain more information.
The widening contact list has also raised questions about the effectiveness of cross-border surveillance, given that the patient travelled through several locations while reportedly experiencing illness.
A Reuters investigation reported that the patient passed through Uganda before flying to Kenya despite heightened surveillance linked to the Ebola outbreak in Congo.
Health experts have raised concerns about the limitations of temperature screening and health declarations, particularly because early Ebola symptoms can be difficult to distinguish from other illnesses.
In response, the Ministry of Health has strengthened screening at points of entry, including Gate 16 at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, particularly for travellers arriving from countries linked to the outbreak.
The government has also identified temporary isolation facilities at Malaba, Kocholia and Busia Border, while Alupe Sub-County Hospital in Busia is being renovated to increase the country’s capacity to handle suspected cases.
Five facilities have been designated to manage Ebola cases, including Kenyatta National Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, National Police Service Hospital, Port Reitz Hospital and Nairobi Hospital.
The government says the available isolation capacity can be expanded if the situation demands.
Kenya has also trained nearly 5,000 health workers in Ebola prevention and management and, according to the Ministry, had screened more than 652,000 travellers and tested 267 samples across five laboratories before the first positive case was detected.
Despite the confirmation of the case and the growing contact list, the government has sought to reassure the public that Kenya is not experiencing an Ebola outbreak.Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni said the case remained an imported infection and that health authorities had activated surveillance teams across the country.
“We remain alert and all officers around the country are activated to ensure timely response to any suspected case,” Muthoni said.
Duale has similarly urged Kenyans to remain vigilant without panicking, advising the public to maintain good hand hygiene, avoid close contact with people displaying symptoms and seek medical attention promptly if they develop symptoms or believe they may have been exposed.
The Ministry has also urged travellers to provide accurate information on health declaration forms to enable authorities to identify potential exposures and prevent further transmission.
The public can obtain official guidance through the Ministry of Health’s toll-free 719 health information line.
The case has nevertheless exposed the challenge Kenya and its neighbours face in containing an outbreak that has already crossed borders.
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the DRC has recorded thousands of infections and deaths, while the patient’s journey from Congo through Uganda to Kenya has prompted fresh scrutiny of the region’s border-surveillance systems.
The immediate focus for Kenya is now clear: find every contact, monitor them through the incubation period and prevent a single imported case from becoming a wider outbreak.
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