Kenya Confirms Third Ebola Case as Health Ministry Says Public Risk Remains Low

Kenyan Ministry of Health officials check the temperature of travelers and disinfect their hands at the Busia One Stop Border Post (OSBP) on the Kenya-Uganda border as health authorities step up Ebola screening measures, in Busia on October 12, 2026. Kenya reported its first-ever Ebola death, the health minister announced on October 6, 2026, after a Kenyan man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo died after returning to the country. The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in May. The deadly disease has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years. (Photo by Bright Emoja / AFP) Track Outbreaks

Addis Abeba – Kenya has confirmed its third #Ebola case, involving a 65-year-old woman who is a close relative of the country’s first two patients, the  health ministry said on Friday, as authorities continued efforts to trace and quarantine contacts.

According to AFP, the ministry said the woman had been in quarantine since 6 October after being identified as a primary contact of the two earlier cases. She developed symptoms, including fever, sore throat and malaise, and subsequently tested positive for the virus.

The ministry said the risk to the public remained low, adding that there was no evidence of community transmission. Of 130 identified contacts, 127 had been traced and placed in quarantine, while efforts continued to locate the remaining three.Get Health Tips

Kenya confirmed its second case on Wednesday, involving a 39-year-old relative of the first patient, who also tested positive while in quarantine.

The country's first confirmed Ebola patient was a 40-year-old Kenyan businessman who had been receiving treatment in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He travelled overland to Uganda's capital, Kampala, before flying to Nairobi on 3 October. He was hospitalised in Nairobi and died on 5 October, according to Health Minister Aden Duale.

The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in May. Congolese health authorities have reported 9,066 infections and 4,381 deaths associated with the outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment.

Neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 Ebola infections and two deaths during its outbreak, which was declared over in August. The latest cases mark Kenya's first reported Ebola infections.