Kenya confirms ninth Ebola case, says all patients improving

Kenya has confirmed a ninth case of Ebola, with health authorities saying all eight surviving patients are improving.

The latest Kenyan case involves a 24-year-old man who is a close relative of the first patient. He developed symptoms while in quarantine and tested positive on 19 October, according to the Kenyan Ministry of Health.

In a statement published on its X account on Tuesday and signed by Patrick Amoth, the Director-General for Health, the ministry said all nine cases belonged to one known cluster, with no evidence of transmission beyond the group.

Kenya’s first patient was a 40-year-old man who travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through Uganda before arriving in Nairobi on 3 October. He died at a Nairobi hospital on 5 October.

Treatment and contact tracing

The ministry said the eight surviving patients were stable and responding well to supportive care. It added that it had received 500 doses of medicine to support treatment for confirmed patients.

Contact tracing has also progressed, with 134 of the 135 identified contacts (99.3 per cent) traced and placed in quarantine.

The ministry said contacts who entered quarantine on 6 October and remain symptom-free would complete their 21-day monitoring period and begin returning home from 25 October.

It added that authorities had distributed protective equipment, diagnostic kits, and sample-collection materials to high-risk counties, and established a dedicated laboratory at Kenyatta National Hospital to support testing and prevent disruption to other hospital laboratory services.

Kenya, it noted, has not imposed restrictions on travel, trade or public gatherings. The cases in Kenya are linked to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the DRC, where the Bundibugyo virus has caused thousands of infections and deaths.

WHO reported more than 8,700 confirmed cases and more than 4,200 deaths in the DRC as of 6 October, with transmission continuing across dozens of health zones.

Nigeria confirms first case

The Kenyan update comes as Nigeria confronts its own Ebola infection, with the federal government confirming the first case in Abuja on Tuesday.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the patient was a woman who arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda. She is receiving treatment in isolation at a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory.

In a statement signed by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, the federal government said it had begun contact tracing and identified 44 close contacts, including healthcare workers, patients, caregivers, and travel contacts.

The government urged healthcare facilities nationwide to remain vigilant, promptly isolate suspected cases, maintain strict infection prevention measures and report suspected infections to public health authorities.

The development has heightened concerns about cross-border transmission, particularly as the outbreak in East and Central Africa coincides with frequent international travel and movement between countries.

Nigeria’s response includes surveillance, laboratory testing, isolation and contact tracing to identify possible infections and limit further transmission.