Kenya has stepped up surveillance, contact tracing and hospital preparedness after confirming its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola, as six new cases reported in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo raise fresh concerns over the risk of cross-border transmission in the region.
The Kenyan case involved a citizen who had been living in the DRC and travelled through Uganda before arriving in Nairobi on October 3. He was admitted to Nairobi Hospital, isolated and tested positive for Ebola after developing symptoms including fever, chills, fatigue, muscle pain, sore throat and bleeding under the skin. He later died.
Kenya’s Ministry of Health has so far identified 57 people who may have been exposed to the patient, with 10 already traced and placed under quarantine at the National Police Service Hospital in Nairobi. Authorities are continuing efforts to locate and monitor the remaining contacts.
The development has put Kenya’s border surveillance system under renewed scrutiny because the patient travelled across several countries while ill before being detected. The route included travel by road from the DRC to Kampala and a flight from Uganda to Nairobi.
The six additional Ebola cases reported in eastern Congo have added to concerns over the ability of neighbouring countries to prevent further cross-border transmission. The current outbreak in the DRC has become the country’s largest Ebola crisis, with thousands of confirmed cases and deaths reported since the outbreak was declared in May.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has sought to reassure the public that Kenya is not currently experiencing a domestic Ebola outbreak, saying the confirmed case was imported from the DRC. However, the government has expanded preparedness measures as authorities work to determine whether anyone exposed to the patient has developed the infection.
Five hospitals have been designated to isolate and manage suspected and confirmed Ebola cases. They include Kenyatta National Hospital, which has eight beds, including five intensive-care beds; Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital with 50 beds; National Police Service Hospital with 49 beds; Port Reitz Hospital with four beds; and Nairobi Hospital, whose Ebola isolation facility has 133 beds, including 45 high-dependency and intensive-care beds.
The government says this capacity can be expanded if the number of suspected or confirmed cases increases. Nairobi Hospital’s isolation unit has been separated from the main hospital campus and divided into designated zones to minimise contact between Ebola patients and other patients. The facility is intended to allow suspected or confirmed cases to be managed without exposing the wider hospital population.
Kenya is also tightening controls at points of entry, particularly along routes linking the country with the DRC and other countries in the region.
Temporary isolation facilities have been identified at Malaba and Kocholia, while the Alupe facility is undergoing renovation. Screening has also been intensified at Gate 16 at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for travellers arriving from countries considered at risk, including the DRC, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Angola, Zambia and the Central African Republic.
The Ministry has urged travellers to complete health declaration forms accurately and disclose relevant travel and health information to help health officials identify potential exposures.
The World Health Organization and Africa CDC are supporting Kenya’s response as the country monitors contacts and strengthens its capacity to detect and contain additional cases.
For the public, health authorities are urging vigilance rather than panic. People who develop symptoms consistent with Ebola or believe they may have been exposed are advised to seek medical attention promptly and disclose their travel and contact history.
The Ministry of Health has provided the toll-free 719 health information line for guidance and urged Kenyans to rely on official government channels for updates.
The immediate challenge for Kenya is to prevent an imported infection from becoming local transmission while maintaining effective surveillance along its extensive regional travel and trade networks.
