Kenyan health authorities have confirmed the detection of an eighth Ebola case in the country as a widening regional outbreak continues to put neighboring nations on heightened alert. Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth announced that out of 38 individuals tested on Sunday, one returned a positive result for the virus.
The newly identified patient is a 49-year-old man who does not work as a healthcare professional. According to health officials, he was employed as a patient attendant responsible for cleaning utensils and linens and was likely exposed to Kenya’s first confirmed Ebola case, which was discovered earlier in the month. The man developed symptoms including a fever, headache, and muscle pain on Saturday. A Ministry of Health source confirmed that he was subsequently quarantined and tested.
The latest diagnosis follows a cluster of infections reported on Saturday, when the ministry announced four new cases. Among those were three healthcare workers who had treated Kenya’s index patient—a man who traveled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Nairobi and died at a Nairobi hospital on October 5. The fourth individual from Saturday’s announcement was a relative of the deceased patient.
Kenya has maintained a heightened state of alertness as the severe outbreak spills across its borders from the DRC. Public health officials have noted that the current circulating strain is the Bundibugyo variant, for which there is currently no licensed vaccine or specific antiviral treatment available.
The regional crisis stems from an unprecedented epidemic in the DRC, which has recorded at least 9,400 cases and more than 4,500 deaths since the outbreak began in May, making it the deadliest in the country’s history. Ituri province in eastern DRC remains the core epicenter, representing nearly three quarters of all confirmed cases according to government figures. Authorities reported on Sunday that the virus has now expanded its reach to an eighth province, North Ubangi.
In response to the mounting transmission, state-run news agency ACP reported that officials in North Kivu province—where the World Health Organization has documented substantial ongoing transmission—are implementing a one-week ban starting Monday on individuals entering from Ituri to curb the spread. Additional containment measures include passenger caps on private vehicles and motorbikes, alongside the suspension of large public gatherings.
Neighboring Uganda previously faced its own spillover, recording 20 confirmed cases—including 15 imported directly from the DRC—and two deaths, before health authorities successfully declared the country Ebola-free in August.
