Ten people linked to Kenya's first-ever Ebola case quarantined as screening concerns grow

7 October 2026, 13: 34 BST. Updated 11 minutes ago.

Key points

• More than 4, 000 individuals have died from Ebola in DR Congo this year, in what is the second most deadly known outbreak of the disease.
• Ten individuals who came into contact with a man who died of Ebola in Kenya have been quarantined, health office-holders in the East African nation say.
• But Dr Dennis Miskellah, a representative from Kenya's main doctors' union, remarked the Ebola case did not come as a surprise to him and most health workers.
• Facilities in four main hospitals have been designated for the management of Ebola patients, including at the Nairobi Hospital, where the first Ebola patient died.
• Shortly after DR Congo declared an outbreak of Ebola in May, it was additionally noted in Uganda, where two individuals died.

They are additionally trying to trace 57 other contacts of the Kenyan patient after he travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo, dying in hospital in Nairobi on Monday.

This is the East African nation's first-ever Ebola case and there is now growing concern regarding the country's screening measures.

Meanwhile, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention chief has informed the BBC that despite being sick for a month, the patient passed through multiple cities in DR Congo, driving to Uganda and eventually flying to Kenya without his sickness being detected.

"We know that he left Buta, a city in DR Congo, to drive to Kisangani. And from Kisangani, he took a flight to Beni. From Beni, he drove to Uganda. And from Uganda, he took a flight to Nairobi, " Jean Kaseya informed the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

"What are symptoms he was presenting? Why was he not detected?" he asked.

Meanwhile, the Ebola virus spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit.

In practice, the current outbreak in DR Congo. It began in May, has been caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which is relatively rare, with no approved vaccine or treatment – though trials are under way.

Kaseya remarked the Africa CDC was investigating the case, alongside the Congolese authorities. A team from the organisation was additionally due to meet the Kenyan health authorities.

What is Ebola and why is stopping the latest outbreak so tough?

Kenya's health ministry official Patrick Amoth remarked the patient might have passed screening after taking medications that masked his symptoms.

After arriving at the airport in Kenya's capital, he was transferred by a relative to a hospital in the city where he died, and was buried on Tuesday in line with health safety guidelines.

Kenyan authorities have pressed residents not to panic, with the health ministry assuring of heightened surveillance at airports and border crossings.

As well as at Kenyan's main airport, he informed the BBC's Newsday programme that he had witnessed "lapses" at various border points, including with neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania.

How could you have been sick for almost a month plus in DR Congo, come all the way to the country through not just any small border point, but the main entry point, the main gateway into the country and pass unnoticed? That's the question that most Kenyans are asking.

For context, the health ministry notes it has intensified measures to contain the spread, with a joint response involving county administrations, humanitarian partners and others.

According to President William Ruto has, surveillance and rapid response teams are on the ground, building on the systems that the country adopted after the outbreak in DR Congo in May.

His spokesman remarked Kenya had the capacity to detect, isolate and manage suspected cases, adding that so far more than 650, 000 travellers had been screened and 267 samples tested.

In June, a US plan to establish an Ebola treatment facility at a military base in the central Kenyan town of Nanyuki sparked concern, with Kenyans reacting furiously regarding the risks of cross-border infection. The plan was halted by the courts.

On Wednesday, Health Minister Aden Duale informed local television station NTV that pending the outcome of the court case, the administration was considering turning the facility into the "first" infectious disease hospital in the region, to accord with outbreaks like Ebola.

Nevertheless, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that county free of the disease in August.

On Tuesday, Uganda's health ministry emphasised that the country remained free of Ebola and was continuing to "maintain strong surveillance measures to protect public health".

It remarked the Kenyan Ebola patient had transited through the country for less than 24 hours and screening teams had "observed he had a normal temperature at the time of departure".

According to Africa CDC chief, his organisation was working with all the countries in the region to reinforce response mechanisms.

Kasiye remarked Kenya was "well prepared" and was therefore able to immediately receive the case, "but it is not the case for all other countries".

"It means the regional approach is more important today to stop this outbreak."

Nevertheless, Kasiye stated there was no quick testing available at border points and the taking of temperatures was unreliable as medication is able to stop a fever.

"I have to create it clear – we don't have diagnostics to test for Ebola. It's just regarding temperature, " he stated.

Dr Miskellah, from the Kenyan doctors' union, remarked he was concerned that governments were counting on the "honesty and full co-operation of the travellers to self-declare, to say the truth" concerning their health.

This was nevertheless undermined by a lack of proper health education to destigmatise the virus, meaning residents often wanted to hide their symptoms, he noted. More from the BBC on the Ebola outbreak.

'I buried my parents one day after the other' – Ebola mourners learn how to grieve safely.

Recovery of Ebola patients offers rare moments of joy at epicentre of outbreak.

'They remarked it isn't real': Ebola rumours fuel attacks on health workers.

Why Uganda is winning the battle against Ebola as virus spreads in DR Congo.

Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.

In short, ten people linked to Kenya' s first-ever Ebola case quarantined as screening concerns is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.