NAIROBI, Kenya- A Kenyan man who had been ill for about a month travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Nairobi, where he tested positive for Ebola and later died.
His route, and what happened during health screening at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), are now central questions in Kenya’s response to its first confirmed case.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the patient had lived in the DRC for seven years and received treatment at several hospitals there.
He later travelled by road to Kampala, Uganda, before boarding a flight to Nairobi on October 3.
Duale said the patient underwent “normal public health scrutiny” at JKIA.
He was then taken by a relative and a friend to Nairobi Hospital, where he was isolated in the emergency room before being moved to an isolation facility.
The account leaves key details unclear.
The Ministry of Health has not publicly explained what the airport screening involved, whether the patient reported his illness or symptoms there, or why his condition did not trigger further assessment before he left the airport.
From airport to isolation
At Nairobi Hospital, doctors assessed the patient for a possible viral haemorrhagic fever after he presented with fever, severe fatigue and weakness, muscle pain, a sore throat and painful swallowing.
Duale said samples later tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
The patient died on Monday night while receiving supportive care, Duale said.
Health authorities have identified 28 contacts, including family members and health workers.
They are also tracing 23 passengers and four crew members who were on the flight from Kampala to Nairobi.
Questions for the authorities
The patient’s journey raises questions about how travellers from affected areas are screened, what health checks are conducted at points of entry and what happens when a traveller reports symptoms.
The Ministry’s account confirms that screening took place, but does not provide enough detail to assess how it was conducted in this case.
The immediate focus is tracing and monitoring people who may have had contact with the patient.
Duale said quarantine arrangements had been prepared for those considered at risk.
Those identified as contacts will be monitored for 21 days.
The case has also put Kenya’s border surveillance and hospital response under scrutiny.
