WAJIR, Kenya- A 20-year-old man in Habaswein, Wajir County, is being investigated for a suspected viral haemorrhagic fever after falling ill during a journey from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda and several parts of Kenya.
The patient developed fever and headache in the DRC on September 2, according to a disease surveillance report filed at Habaswein Police Station.
He later travelled by truck to Uganda, where he stayed for about five days and received treatment for his symptoms.
He crossed into Kenya through Malaba, stayed with a relative for about five days, then travelled to Nairobi and continued to Isiolo by bus.
After spending about 10 days in Isiolo, he was taken to Habaswein, arriving around September 20.
Health authorities are now identifying people who may have had contact with him along the route.
The patient is isolated at Albadar Nursing Home, while the Wajir South sub-county security team is monitoring the situation.
The report says he first sought treatment at Hilac Medical Clinic in Habaswein, where he was managed for pneumonia and septicaemia for about three days.
After his condition failed to improve, he was transferred to Albadar Nursing Home.
At the facility, he was found to have severe anaemia, with a haemoglobin level of four grams per decilitre, and received two units of whole blood.
His treatment also includes intravenous Augmentin and paracetamol.
The report described him as still clinically unwell.
A sample has been collected for laboratory testing.
The surveillance report said it was due to be sent to the National Public Health Virology Laboratory on Wednesday night.
It did not include a test result, and no confirmed diagnosis has been announced.
The case is being investigated amid heightened health surveillance after Kenya confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease on October 6.
That case involved a different Kenyan patient who had travelled from the DRC and later died in Nairobi.
Authorities have not announced a connection between the confirmed case and the man in Wajir.
The World Health Organization says Kenya has intensified case investigation, contact monitoring and screening at high-risk points of entry.
As of October 6, the country had screened more than 652,000 travellers, tested 267 suspected samples and trained about 5,000 health workers in Ebola prevention and management.
The Wajir report does not identify the patient by name. It describes the illness as a suspected viral haemorrhagic fever or severe febrile illness, meaning laboratory testing is needed to determine its cause.
