Kenyan health authorities said a citizen died after testing positive for Ebola, marking the country’s first case of the current outbreak.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the patient had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for seven years and had been unwell for about a month before returning to Kenya.
He had received treatment at several health facilities in DRC before travelling by road to Kampala in Uganda and later boarding a flight to Nairobi.
The patient went through routine public health screening on arrival before being taken by a relative to a hospital for further treatment.
As his condition worsened he was transferred to an isolation facility where doctors suspected a viral haemorrhagic fever and collected samples for testing. The tests later showed that he had Ebola.
Duale said the patient developed fever chills, severe fatigue weakness, painful swallowing muscle pain and bleeding under the skin before his condition deteriorated. He later died while receiving treatment.
Health authorities identified 28 people who had come into contact with him including family members and healthcare workers. They were placed under monitoring as officials continued tracing others who might have been exposed.
Authorities were also tracing 23 passengers and four crew members who had travelled on the same flight from Kampala.
The case came after months of preparations by Kenya as Ebola spread in neighbouring countries.
Before the first case was detected the Ministry of Health had intensified surveillance laboratory testing border screening and emergency response measures because of the risk of the virus crossing into the country. Kenya had also established isolation facilities and trained health workers for possible Ebola cases.
The outbreak remained concentrated mainly in DRC where transmission had continued to spread across several provinces.
Latest figures showed 8,463 confirmed cases and 4,082 deaths linked to the outbreak including cases recorded in DRC Uganda and France before the Kenyan case was reported. DRC alone had recorded 8,442 confirmed cases and 4,080 deaths.
Uganda had earlier recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths.
The World Health Organization and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention later declared Uganda’s outbreak over after the country completed 42 consecutive days without a new confirmed case.
The current outbreak was caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola. WHO said there was no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the species and that controlling its spread depended heavily on early detection isolation, contact tracing, safe burials and community involvement.
Kenyan authorities continued monitoring identified contacts and tracing other people who might have been exposed as efforts focused on preventing further transmission.
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