Kenyan patient suspected of Ebola infection tests negative

Preliminary lab results ease fears of a second case in Kenya, after the country reported its first-ever case this week.

Health workers and officials stand outside a Ebola isolation facility at The Nairobi Hospital in Kenya on October 7, 2026 [Andrew Kasuku/AP]

Preliminary laboratory results from a Kenyan patient who was suspected of contracting the Ebola virus have come back negative.

Fears of a second case of Ebola in the East African country were allayed on Thursday after the governor of Wajir County, where the patient is being treated, revealed the test results.

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“I am pleased to report that the preliminary laboratory results indicate that the sample is NEGATIVE for Ebola Virus Disease,” the Wajir county governor said in a statement.

The suspected patient is a 20-year-old man with a travel history from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through Uganda to Kenya.

The other Kenyan patient who tested positive for the virus and subsequently died had travelled the same route.

Kenya had reported its first-ever Ebola case on Tuesday after a citizen who became sick in the DRC died in Nairobi.

Ongoing Ebola outbreak

The deadly strain of the Ebola virus has spread widely, starting in the DRC earlier this year. The DRC officially declared an outbreak in May.

Kenya is the fourth country to record a case linked to the Ebola epidemic in the DRC, the second-largest on record. The ongoing outbreak in the eastern DRC has killed at least 4,205 people out of more than 8,700 reported cases.

The outbreak spread across the border to Uganda, which had about 20 cases before being declared Ebola-free in July.

The strain behind the latest spread has been dubbed the Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), believed to have spread from animals to humans through a new transmission route. No vaccine currently exists for Bundibugyo.

The first case in Kenya drew scrutiny over the status of the virus in neighbouring Uganda and exposed lapses in Kenya’s border screening systems. The patient who died was able to pass through multiple airport temperature checks.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with Kenyan authorities to trace contacts and strengthen checks for travellers entering the country.

初步实验室检测结果缓解了人们对肯尼亚出现第二例病例的担忧，此前该国本周报告了首例病例。

2026年10月7日，肯尼亚内罗毕医院的医务人员和官员站在埃博拉隔离设施外。[Andrew Kasuku/AP]

一名疑似感染埃博拉病毒的肯尼亚患者的初步实验室检测结果呈阴性。

周四，在患者接受治疗的瓦吉尔县县长公布了检测结果后，人们对东非国家出现第二例埃博拉病例的担忧得以消除。

肯尼亚确诊首例埃博拉病例，一名男子从刚果民主共和国返回后在内罗毕死亡（列表1/3）：肯尼亚确认首例埃博拉病例，该男子在内罗毕死亡。

肯尼亚首例埃博拉死亡病例后，筛查工作令人担忧，目前处于高度戒备状态（共3个名单中的第2个）。

列表 3/3：为何肯尼亚一例埃博拉死亡病例引发了人们对埃博拉疫情在非洲更广泛传播的担忧

“我很高兴地报告，初步实验室结果表明，该样本的埃博拉病毒病检测结果为阴性，”瓦吉尔县县长在一份声明中说。

疑似患者是一名 20 岁的男子，有从刚果民主共和国（DRC）经乌干达到肯尼亚的旅行史。

另一名病毒检测呈阳性并随后死亡的肯尼亚患者也曾走过同样的路线。

周二，肯尼亚报告了该国首例埃博拉病例，一名在刚果民主共和国感染埃博拉病毒的公民在内罗毕去世。

埃博拉疫情持续爆发

致命的埃博拉病毒株已广泛传播，最早于今年年初在刚果民主共和国爆发。刚果民主共和国于5月正式宣布疫情爆发。

肯尼亚是第四个报告与刚果民主共和国埃博拉疫情相关的病例的国家，这是有记录以来第二大疫情。刚果民主共和国东部持续爆发的疫情已造成至少4205人死亡，报告病例超过8700例。

疫情蔓延至邻国乌干达，该国在 7 月份宣布无埃博拉病例之前，曾有约 20 例病例。

此次疫情的病毒株被命名为邦迪布焦病毒（BDBV），据信是通过一种新的传播途径从动物传播到人类的。目前尚无针对邦迪布焦病毒的疫苗。

肯尼亚的首例病例引发了人们对邻国乌干达病毒状况的关注，并暴露了肯尼亚边境筛查系统的漏洞。这名死亡患者曾多次通过机场体温检测。

世界卫生组织（世卫组织）正与肯尼亚当局合作，追踪密切接触者，并加强对入境旅客的检查。