Kenya’s first imported case of Ebola – in which the patient travelled from Democratic Republic of Congo via Uganda – has exposed failings in border screening processes. Now Kenyan health officials are racing against the clock to prevent one infection from becoming an outbreak.
By: Anne Macharia in Nairobi
By the time Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case, the patient had already travelled across three countries.
The Kenyan man at the centre of the country’s first confirmed case had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for seven years. He fell ill there and received treatment at several hospitals before beginning his journey home to Kenya.
On 2 October, he travelled by road from Beni in the DRC to Kampala, Uganda. The following day, he boarded a flight to Nairobi, arriving at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. He was taken to Nairobi Hospital, isolated and assessed.
His symptoms included fever, chills, fatigue, muscle pain, painful swallowing, sore throat and bleeding beneath the skin. Samples taken from the patient tested positive for Bundibugyo Ebola at Kenya’s National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute.
He died on the night of 5 October. The following day, Kenya notified the World Health Organization (WHO).
Now the race is on for the country’s health authorities to trace everyone who may have been exposed.
Health authorities have so far identified 57 contacts, 10 of whom have been quarantined at the National Police Service Hospital.
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