Kenya accounts for all 135 Ebola contacts linked to Patient Zero as virus response intensifies

Ministry of Health officials led by Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale during an Ebola press briefing at Afya House on October 6, 2026. (Photo: MoH)

Kenya has accounted for all 135 contacts linked to its first Ebola case as health authorities intensify efforts to contain the virus, with low-risk individuals who have completed the required quarantine period expected to begin leaving the facilities from Sunday.

Health Director-General Dr Patrick Amoth said 126 contacts were being monitored in institutional quarantine, while the remaining nine were outside Kenya’s jurisdiction but had been identified and contacted through coordination with relevant authorities.

He said the last contact being traced was a Ugandan national who had travelled by road through the Namanga border crossing and was using a South Sudanese telephone number, complicating efforts to establish their whereabouts.

“All the listed contacts have been accounted for. We have 126 in institutional quarantine, while the remaining nine are outside our jurisdiction, and we have communicated with them,” Dr Amoth said.

Kenya’s index Ebola patient was a Kenyan man in his 40s who had lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for seven years. He travelled by road to Kampala, Uganda, before boarding a Jambojet flight to Nairobi on October 3, 2026.

He had been unwell for about a month and sought treatment at several hospitals in the DRC before developing severe symptoms, including fever, fatigue, muscle pain and bleeding beneath the skin. He was admitted to Nairobi Hospital, where laboratory tests confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola. He died on October 5, two days after arriving in Kenya.

His case triggered contact tracing and surveillance efforts to identify people who may have been exposed during his journey and treatment.

The process was initially difficult, particularly in urban communities where people interact closely and share facilities. Authorities also faced challenges securing cooperation from contacts during the early days of the response.

Dr Amoth said public communication had helped build confidence, encouraging more people to cooperate with health teams and provide information needed to trace potential exposures.

He said authorities were reviewing the cases of people who had completed their quarantine period, with low-risk individuals expected to be released from Sunday onwards, depending on their risk assessment and the guidance of case management teams.

However, the process has been complicated by the conditions in some quarantine facilities, which were not ideally designed for managing infectious disease outbreaks.

Dr Amoth explained that effective quarantine requires separate rooms, individual toilet facilities and arrangements that prevent people from coming into contact with others. These conditions have not always been available, increasing the complexity of monitoring contacts and determining when quarantine periods should begin or be reset.

In some instances, authorities had to reconsider quarantine timelines because of continued exposure within communal settings. Health teams have also been working to establish precisely when and where contacts may have encountered the virus.

Dr Amoth said patients receiving treatment were doing well, with some receiving monoclonal antibody therapy and others undergoing intravenous treatment.

He noted that one patient experienced a drop in oxygen levels while receiving monoclonal antibodies but was managed with oxygen support. No other adverse reactions had been reported, according to the update.

Kenya has requested 10,000 doses of an Ebola vaccine for health workers as part of efforts to protect frontline personnel involved in the response.

The request comes as authorities continue to strengthen infection prevention measures in designated treatment facilities and among teams conducting contact tracing and surveillance.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation’s emergency response representative, Dr Otim Patrick, said Kenya was strengthening surveillance at points of entry to prevent infected travellers from crossing into the country undetected.

He noted that Ebola screening involves travellers completing health declaration forms, undergoing temperature checks and being observed by health workers. However, these measures may fail to identify some infections when travellers do not disclose relevant information or do not display visible symptoms.

The movement of people between Uganda and the DRC remains a concern because of porous borders and frequent cross-border travel.

Dr Otim said Kenya was working with authorities to reinforce screening, improve the collection of travel and exposure histories and ensure that suspected cases could be isolated while response teams were contacted.

He also highlighted the need to strengthen preparedness in counties bordering Uganda, particularly Turkana, as well as other areas along the northern transport corridor.