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Kenya confirms first Ebola case imported from Congo, patient has died
On Tuesday, Kenya's Health Ministry confirmed the country's first imported Ebola case, a Kenyan citizen who arrived in Nairobi from the Democratic Republic of Congo via Uganda on Saturday and died late Monday while receiving treatment.
The patient had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo for seven years before arriving in Kenya; more than 4,000 people have died from Ebola in that region this year in the second most deadly known outbreak.
Tests confirmed the Ebola Bundibugyo virus, and Health Minister Aden Duale stated the individual underwent public screening at Nairobi's main airport on Saturday before a relative transferred him to the hospital.
Following the death, health authorities have placed the county on high alert and are actively monitoring for possible additional cases among the 28 identified contacts including family members and health workers.
Vigilance remains critical given the ongoing crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the outbreak has claimed more than 4,000 lives this year, while Kenya's health ministry continues managing the situation to prevent further transmission.
A Kenyan living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo died of Ebola virus disease on Monday, 5 October, in a hospital in Nairobi, the Minister of Health of Kenya announced. This is the first death related to this disease ever recorded in this country in East Africa.