Ebola in Kenya: first death, patient passed airport screening. In Congo, WHO records 8,544 cases

Kenya has confirmed its first Ebola case in its history, and its first death: on Monday, 5 October, a man died in Nairobi who had lived in Congo for seven years and had flown to Nairobi on Saturday via Uganda. BBC ↗ According to BBC, he passed a routine check at the airport. The ministry has identified 28 of his contacts and is searching for another 27 people from the flight. BBC ↗ According to NOS, Kenya is the fourth country to report a case in this epidemic. NOS ↗ This comes at a time when, according to BBC, the World Health Organization records 8,544 cases and 4,114 deaths in Congo, which is more than thirteen times as many cases as in June. BBC ↗

How the sick man got to Nairobi

According to BBC and the German agency dpa, the man fell ill about a month ago and was treated in several hospitals in Congo. He then travelled overland to Kampala in Uganda and on Saturday, 3 October, flew to Nairobi. BBC ↗ Tagesspiegel (dpa) ↗ France 24 describes him as a 40-year-old Kenyan businessman. France 24 ↗

At Nairobi airport he passed a routine check, and a relative drove him to Nairobi Hospital. From there he was moved to an isolation unit built during the COVID pandemic, where he developed fever, chills, severe fatigue, pain when swallowing, muscle aches and bleeding under the skin. The sample tested positive for the Bundibugyo virus. The patient died on Monday at 23:30, and on Tuesday he was buried according to health protection protocols. BBC ↗

It is not yet clear why the screening did not detect him. According to BBC, a senior health ministry official admits that the medicines the patient was taking may have masked the symptoms. Health Minister Aden Duale urged Kenyans not to panic and says all systems are ready and that authorities have tightened checks at airports and borders. BBC ↗ Dpa adds that in the early phase the disease can easily be mistaken for malaria. Tagesspiegel (dpa) ↗

Authorities have so far identified 28 contacts, including family members and health workers, and are searching for 23 passengers and four crew members from the flight the patient arrived on. BBC writes that they are still tracing them, while the Dutch broadcaster NOS reports that 23 fellow passengers are in isolation. BBC ↗ NOS ↗ The patient was only passing through Uganda, but dpa warns that the country, which WHO declared free of Ebola at the end of August, could be affected again. Tagesspiegel (dpa) ↗

An epidemic that has grown more than thirteenfold since June

According to BBC, WHO has recorded 4,114 deaths out of 8,544 cases, making this the largest Ebola epidemic in Congo's history and the second deadliest ever recorded. Congolese authorities reported 4,148 deaths on Monday, so the figures vary by day and source. BBC ↗ Tagesspiegel (dpa) ↗ However, WHO's latest report (DON618) from 25 September gives, as of 23 September, 7,890 confirmed cases and 3,799 deaths across seven provinces, so BBC is citing newer data. WHO ↗ In June we wrote about 598 cases and 115 deaths. On Friday, Wessam Mankoula of Africa CDC described the epidemic as the fastest-growing one they have ever seen. Tagesspiegel (dpa) ↗

Read also: Congo's Ebola has 598 cases and 115 victims. The US asks Europe for closures before the World Cup, while Belgium and scientists reject this as disproportionate

On Monday, Médecins Sans Frontières warned that the virus is spreading like a megafire. According to MSF, since the beginning of September the epidemic has dramatically intensified in North Kivu province, which now accounts for almost 40 percent of new confirmed cases in the country. BBC ↗ RFI reports more than 8,500 confirmed cases and more than 4,000 deaths, and according to MSF new outbreaks emerge every week and treatment capacity is already far exceeded. RFI ↗ Citing Afrik.com, Courrier International gives as an example of lagging response the Mandima health zone, where a single clinic reportedly ran out of fuel. Courrier International ↗

Why it is hard to stop

The epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo species, which is relatively rare and has neither an approved vaccine nor a treatment. According to BBC, four vaccines are in development, and human trials of one of them began in July. BBC ↗ Added to this is eastern Congo's war, with many armed groups, which weakens the healthcare system, and gaps in testing, which may mean the true number of victims is higher, according to Médecins Sans Frontières as cited by BBC. BBC ↗

Limits of this view

Everything stated here comes second-hand: from BBC, the German agency dpa, the Dutch NOS, RFI and Courrier International. We read WHO report DON618 directly, but the newer WHO figures and the Kenyan ministry's statements only through intermediaries. The claim that medicines may have masked the patient's symptoms at screening comes from an unnamed health ministry official and has not been verified. The figures vary by source and date: 4,114 deaths according to BBC and WHO, 4,148 according to Congolese authorities, and 3,799 in WHO's latest report as of 23 September. According to Médecins Sans Frontières, the real situation may be even worse. We do not know the results of contact tests in Kenya.

What to watch for

• Ebola is confirmed in one of the 28 contacts or among the passengers on the flight from Uganda.
• Uganda reports a new confirmed Ebola case.
• Ebola is confirmed in a country that has not yet reported a case in this epidemic.
• The first results of human trials of a vaccine against the Bundibugyo virus are published.

*Photo: arrivals at the international terminal of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. Bahnfrend / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.*