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KENYAN GOVERNMENT RUSHES TO FIND CONTACTS OF THE FIRST EBOLA PATIENT IN KENYA, WHO DIED ON MONDAY

The Ministry Of Health (MOH) has initiated a crucial exercise to track potential contacts following the first confirmation of Ebola virus in Kenya.

Cabinet Secretary for Health, Aden Duale said that 28 contacts have been identified so far including the family members of the victim who passed away on Monday night at the Nairobi hospital and the health workers that attended to the patient.

The Ministry of Health is on the look-out for 23 passengers and 4 crew members who happened to be on the same flight as the deceased victim from Kampala in Uganda to Nairobi in Kenya.

The above the mentioned patient who was a Kenyan citizen, arrived in Kenya on 3rd October 2026, after staying in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a period of 7 years.

According to CS Duale, the victim became sickly about a month ago and had received treatment from various hospitals in DRC, later he travelled to Kampala by road.

The patient proceeded to board Jambo jet 8523 from Kampala, Uganda and reached Kenya on 3rd of October 2026.

CS Duale affirmed that arrangements have been made in order to trace the individuals that were exposed to the Ebola patient for 21 days quarantine, for them to be monitored by healthcare officials in case of any symptoms of the virus.

This tracing exercise is an initiative by the Kenyan government to stop further transmission of the virus and also identify those that have already been infected through exposure to the virus.

According to the government, 276 samples have been tested in five different laboratories for example Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) laboratories in Nairobi and Kisumu, the national virus reference laboratory, and two other mobile laboratories deployed at the Busia border and in Bungoma County.

The sample confirmed to be positive belonged to the deceased Ebola patient.

Kenyan government has intensified screening, surveillance, increased laboratory testing and infection prevention measures at all official entry points into the country in order to prevent transmission of Ebola across the borders.

APERIT FM, HII NI YETU