Kenya confirms 1st Ebola case traveled from Congo

Kenya has confirmed its first case of Ebola and the country's first death from the disease after a Kenyan man who had been living in Congo returned to Nairobi over the weekend, authorities said Tuesday, prompting an urgent contact-tracing effort to contain the virus.

The man had lived in Congo for the past seven years and became ill about a month ago. He received treatment at several hospitals before traveling by road to Kampala, Uganda, where he boarded a flight to the Kenyan capital and arrived Saturday afternoon, Health Minister Aden Duale said.

Kenyan health authorities have put border entry points on high alert and are monitoring for possible additional cases.

Duale said the man was isolated and treated at Nairobi Hospital after arriving in the capital. He tested positive for Ebola and died late Monday.

Ebola is highly contagious and can spread through contact with bodily fluids such as blood, vomit and semen, as well as contaminated surfaces and materials including bedding and clothing.

The current outbreak was declared in mid-May, months after the virus had been spreading in a remote area of eastern Congo. At least 8,400 cases, including more than 4,000 deaths, have been recorded, according to government data, making it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history.

Kenya has never previously experienced an Ebola outbreak, according to the Kenya Medical Research Institute.

The country also hosts a US-funded isolation facility for American citizens exposed to Ebola, where they can be quarantined for 21 days before returning to the United States. The facility has faced legal challenges and deadly protests from local residents who feared it could expose them to the virus.

Dozens of contacts identified or being traced

Kenya is the fourth country to report an Ebola case during the current outbreak, which was declared in eastern Congo in mid-May. Uganda has reported 20 cases and France one. Before Kenya's case, there had been no active Ebola cases outside Congo since Uganda declared its outbreak over in late August.

Duale said health authorities had identified 28 contacts of the man, including family members and health workers who treated him after his return Saturday.

Authorities were also tracing 23 passengers and four crew members who traveled on the same flight from Uganda to Kenya.

The contacts will remain in isolation for 21 days and will be released after testing negative for the virus, said the ministry's director-general, Dr Patrick Amoth.

After arriving in Nairobi, the man was taken by relatives in a private vehicle to Nairobi Hospital, where he was immediately isolated. He was buried Tuesday afternoon in line with recommended public health and safety protocols.

Duale said Kenya had tested 267 samples at five laboratories across the country since May before detecting its first confirmed case.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that it was working with Kenya to help prevent further transmission of the virus.

"WHO has also delivered about 1,000 Ebola tests and 1,000 personal protective equipment kits to high-risk counties in Kenya," the organization said in a statement.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention commended Kenya's "rapid identification, isolation and testing of the patient" and said it had sent a high-level team to the country to provide support.

Ebola outbreak in Congo spreads amid difficult conditions

In Congo, where the outbreak has now reached seven provinces, responders are facing difficult conditions. Health teams have come under attack, misinformation about the virus has spread, some residents have failed to report symptoms and rebel violence has restricted access to treatment centers.

Although cases have declined in Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, the disease is spreading in emerging hotspots in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

"It is like fighting a megafire. Multiple outbreaks are developing at the same time, with varying intensity and in different locations," Stéphanie Hoffmann of Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said in a statement.

The World Health Organization has warned that the outbreak could surpass the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, which occurred more than a decade ago in West Africa and killed more than 11,000 people.