Kenya Confirms Eighth Ebola Virus Case Amid Outbreak in Nearby DRC

Don Jacobson

Sun, October 18, 2026 at 8:49 PM EDT

An eighth person carrying the Bundibugyo virus was identified in Kenya on Sunday as the country remained on high alert amid a major Ebola outbreak in the nearby Democratic Republic of Congo. File Photo by Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- An eighth person infected with the virus that causes Ebola was identified in Kenya on Sunday as the disease outbreak appeared to continue its migration from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The African nation's health ministry reported that of 38 people tested on Sunday one 49-year-old man tested positive for the Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment.

Kenyan Director-General for Health Dr. Patrick Amoth said the victim was not a healthcare worker and that he developed fever, headache and muscle pain.

The confirmation of an eighth case came less than two weeks after Kenya's first-known case stemming from the current DRC Ebola outbreak was announced by health officials.

In that instance, a patient fell ill in the DRC in mid-September, and after receiving treatment at several local hospitals, travelled by plane to Nairobi where they arrived on Oct. 3 with symptoms including fever, chills, fatigue, muscle pain, painful swallowing, a sore throat and bleeding under the skin at injection sites.

Since then, seven more Bundibugyo infections have been identified in Kenya as the nation remains on heightened alert since the DRC outbreak began in May.

Kenyan officials on Sunday urged residents not to panic and again reassured the public that systems are in place to respond but urged those who have come into contact with any of the confirmed carriers within the previous 21 days to beware of symptoms and to call emergency services if they develop symptoms.

As of Oct. 6, the DRC outbreak had resulted in 8,728 confirmed cases and 4,205 confirmed deaths in that country, yielding a case fatality ratio of 48.2 as the World Health Organization warned it was growing exponentially.

The outbreak has shown "persistently high mortality" and a "large number of deaths occurring outside treatment center," the WHO noted, likely a result of delays in identifying illness and the lack of appropriate care.

The Netherlands reported the medical evacuation of a healthcare worker who tested positive for the Bundibugyo virus in the DRC on Oct. 1, who was subsequently reported to undergoing treatment in their home country.