Kenya confirms eighth Ebola case amid widening regional outbreak

Kenyan health authorities say latest patient was likely exposed to the country’s first Ebola case.

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

Kenyan health authorities say an eighth Ebola case has been detected, bringing the total number of known infections in the East African nation to eight.

Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth told Kenya’s Citizen TV that of the 38 people tested on Sunday, one had returned a positive result.

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“He is a 49-year-old man who is not a healthcare worker. He developed fever, headache and muscle pain,” he said.

Amoth said the man, who worked as a patient attendant cleaning utensils and linens, was likely exposed to Kenya’s first Ebola case, discovered earlier this month.

He developed symptoms on Saturday, was quarantined and tested for the virus, a Ministry of Health source said.

The ministry reported four new cases on Saturday , three of whom were health workers who treated the country’s first Ebola patient, a man who travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Nairobi and died at a Nairobi hospital on October 5.

In a post on X, the ministry said the fourth person was related to the deceased patient.

Travellers enter Kenya’s immigration services to access port health services at the Busia One Stop Border Post, a crossing point between Kenya and Uganda, in Busia, Kenya, on October 8, 2026 [James Keyi/Reuters]

Kenya has been on heightened alert, as the Ebola outbreak has spilled across the border from the DRC. The current outbreak is of the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no vaccine or specific treatment.

The DRC has recorded at least 9,400 cases, including more than 4,500 deaths, in the deadliest outbreak in the country’s history, which started in May.

Ituri province in eastern DRC remains the disease’s epicentre, accounting for almost three quarters of confirmed cases, according to the government’s most recent data. It announced on Sunday that the virus has reached an eighth province, North Ubangi.

State-run news agency ACP reported on Sunday that authorities in North Kivu province, where the World Health Organization said substantial transmission continues, are introducing a one-week ban from Monday on people entering the province from Ituri in an effort to slow the spread.

Other measures set to be introduced include restrictions on passenger numbers in cars and on motorbikes and suspension of large public gatherings.

Neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases, including 15 imported from the DRC, and two deaths, before it was declared Ebola-free in August.

肯尼亚卫生部门表示，最新确诊的患者很可能接触过该国首例埃博拉病例。

2026年10月7日，肯尼亚卫生工作者和官员站在内罗毕医院的埃博拉隔离设施外。[Andrew Kasuku/AP]

肯尼亚卫生部门表示，已发现第八例埃博拉病例，使这个东非国家的已知感染总数达到八例。

卫生总干事帕特里克·阿莫斯告诉肯尼亚公民电视台，周日接受检测的 38 人中，有一人检测结果呈阳性。

肯尼亚记录了第三例埃博拉病例（共三例，此病例与首例死亡患者有关），该病例与首例死亡患者有关。

肯尼亚卫生部确认第二例埃博拉病例（共3例，此为第2例）

肯尼亚埃博拉病例清单（共3例） 内罗毕以外的检测准备情况

“他是一名49岁的男子，并非医护人员。他出现了发烧、头痛和肌肉疼痛的症状，”他说。

阿莫斯表示，这名男子是医院的病人护理员，负责清洁餐具和床单，他很可能接触到了肯尼亚本月早些时候发现的首例埃博拉病例。

卫生部消息人士称，他于周六出现症状，随后被隔离并接受了病毒检测。

卫生部周六报告了四例新增病例，其中三例是医护人员，他们曾治疗过该国首例埃博拉患者，该患者是一名从刚果民主共和国（DRC）前往内罗毕的男子，于 10 月 5 日在内罗毕一家医院去世。

该部委在X网站上发布消息称，第四名死者与已故患者有亲属关系。

2026年10月8日，旅客在肯尼亚布西亚的布西亚一站式边境口岸（肯尼亚和乌干达之间的过境点）进入肯尼亚移民局办理入境手续，以获得港口医疗服务。[James Keyi/路透社]

由于埃博拉疫情已从刚果民主共和国蔓延至肯尼亚，该国已进入高度戒备状态。目前爆发的疫情是邦迪布焦毒株，尚无疫苗或特效疗法。

刚果民主共和国已记录至少 9400 例病例，其中包括 4500 多例死亡，这是该国历史上最致命的疫情，疫情始于 5 月。

根据政府最新数据，刚果民主共和国东部的伊图里省仍然是疫情中心，确诊病例占全国近四分之三。政府周日宣布，病毒已蔓延至第八个省份——北乌班吉省。

国家通讯社ACP周日报道称，世界卫生组织表示，北基伍省疫情仍在持续，该省当局将从周一起对来自伊图里省的人员实施为期一周的入境禁令，以减缓疫情传播。

其他即将出台的措施包括限制汽车和摩托车的乘客人数，以及暂停大型公共集会。

邻国乌干达在 8 月份宣布无埃博拉疫情之前，曾记录了 20 例确诊病例，其中 15 例是从刚果民主共和国输入的，还有 2 例死亡。