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Kenya Ebola: second case confirmed in relative of first patient, WHO says no community spread

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Update: TrendDesh reported on 15 October on the Ebola and cholera outbreaks in DR Congo. This report covers the second Ebola case in Kenya.

Kenya Ebola cases have risen to two after a 39-year-old man tested positive for the Bundibugyo virus, the World Health Organization’s representative in Kenya said on 15 October 2026. He is a relative of Kenya’s first case, who died in hospital on 5 October, and was already in quarantine when he fell ill.

Kenya Ebola: A health worker in Kenya prepares Ebola response materials during a training exercise
A health worker in Kenya prepares Ebola response materials during a training exercise Photo: © WHO/Ardo Farah via UN News (editorial use with credit).

How the second Kenya Ebola case was found

The man was among contacts placed in quarantine and developed symptoms on 13 October, UN News reported. Kenya’s Ministry of Health confirmed the case a day before WHO spoke. AP and BBC also reported that the patient is a relative of the first victim. Kenya’s first patient was a local man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a record outbreak continues in the east. He arrived in Nairobi via Uganda on 3 October and died two days later. ‘I congratulate the Government for taking this important step to ensure that contacts are listed and quarantined,’ said WHO representative Dr Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo.

Key Facts

  • Confirmed cases in Kenya: 2; deaths: 1
  • Second patient: 39-year-old man, relative of first case
  • Symptoms began: 13 Oct 2026, while in quarantine
  • Contacts traced: 40+
  • Health workers trained: 4,000+

“We all have a role to play and if each one of us plays our part, then we should be able to contain the disease and stop community spread.”

— Dr Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, WHO Representative in Kenya

Contact tracing and quarantine

Dr Kimambo said health authorities ‘cast the net very wide’. More than 40 contacts were traced, including airline passengers and crew, plane cleaners, airport workers, baggage handlers, immigration officials, health workers and family members. Most are in quarantine, while a few low-risk contacts are isolating themselves and being monitored. Officials are still trying to reach six passengers who have foreign phone numbers. WHO has sent a senior incident manager who worked on Uganda’s Ebola response. It has donated about $70,000 of supplies, and more than 4,000 health workers have been trained, including for screening at ports of entry.

WHO advice on Bundibugyo virus

Dr Kimambo said there is still no need for travel restrictions or border closures, but travellers should be properly screened. Ebola spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. She advised regular handwashing, the use of hand sanitiser and avoiding handshakes. Because early symptoms such as fever, vomiting and diarrhoea look like malaria and other illnesses, she urged people to seek care quickly. ‘I think one is not to over panic and be very fearful because we do not have community spread,’ she said. The outbreak in DR Congo was declared in May, and WHO and Kenya had been preparing since then. Neighbouring Uganda also faced the disease, with an outbreak there officially ruled out in late August. Dr Kimambo said case management and infection prevention in quarantine centres are critical now. The figures in this story come from WHO and Kenya’s Ministry of Health.

Why It Matters: Because the new patient was already in quarantine, the chance of wider spread is lower, but six untraced passengers keep the risk alive.

Also on TrendDesh: DR Congo cholera cases top 125,000 as the country also battles an Ebola outbreak, WHO warns · UN pandemic declaration adopted 153-3 as US, Israel, Argentina vote against

Source: UN News · AP News · BBC News · CIDRAP

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