Kenya confirms first Ebola case imported from Congo after patient dies in Nairobi

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s Health Ministry on Tuesday confirmed the country’s first imported Ebola case from Congo.

Health Minister Aden Duale said a Kenyan citizen who arrived in the country on Saturday from Congo via Uganda had been isolated and treated at Nairobi Hospital. The patient tested positive for the Ebola virus after developing symptoms associated with hemorrhagic fever.

The patient died late Monday while receiving treatment.

Health authorities have placed the country's border points on high alert and are monitoring for possible additional cases.

Duale said 28 contacts, including family members and health workers who cared for the patient, had been identified. Another 23 passengers who traveled on the same flight from Uganda were being traced.

The contacts will remain in isolation for 21 days and will be released after testing negative for the virus, the ministry’s director, Patrick Amoth, said.

The patient will be buried within 24 hours in accordance with recommended public safety protocols.

The minister said the patient had been living in Congo for the past seven years and fell ill about a month ago. He was treated at various hospitals before traveling by road to Kampala, where he boarded a flight to Nairobi, arriving on Saturday afternoon.

Director Amoth said the patient was screened at the airport but, because he was already undergoing treatment, the screening process did not detect any symptoms.

The patient’s relatives later took him to Nairobi Hospital in a private vehicle, where he was immediately isolated.

The minister said Kenya had tested 267 samples at five laboratories across the country since May, with only one testing positive — the country’s first case.

Kenya is the fourth country to record an Ebola case in the current outbreak, which was declared in eastern Congo in mid-May. Uganda recorded 20 cases and France one. Before Kenya reported its case, there had been no active cases outside Congo since Uganda declared its outbreak over in late August.

This is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history. The World Health Organization has warned it could become the deadliest as it continues to outpace efforts to track and contain it.

The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment. Vaccine and treatment trials are underway in Congo’s Ituri province , the outbreak’s epicenter.