The World Health Organization (WHO), Director General, Dr. Tendros Adhanom has commended the Kenyan Government for reporting the first imported Ebola Case under the international health regulations in a timely way.

“I commend the Kenyan Government for its prompt action, and for reporting the case to WHO under the international health regulations in a timely way,” he said.

The Director General stated the Kenyan Authorities are still monitoring 55 contacts who came in contact with the infected patient, including passengers and crew who were with him on the flight as he travelled from Kampala to Nairobi. He also noted he to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Aden Duale, to discuss the case and the measures Kenya had taken to prepare for such an event.

Dr. Tendros also advised on the way forward especially with rise of new hotspots, “WHO advices against blanket travel or trade restrictions which are less effective than screening, contact tracing and other measures. Transparency should be rewarded and not punished,” he added.

At the same time he said that Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed 8,665 cases of Ebola with 4178 confirmed deaths. He noted that some areas of the country have clear signs that the epidemic is slowing while others are still growing.

“Since the outbreak began, contact tracing has improved significantly, around 2000 alerts are reported everyday and about 5 million people have been reached through community engagement activities,” Dr. Tendros stated.

The WHO chief said clinical trials of therapeutics are still progressing in DRC with more than 600 people enrolled. He noted that vaccine trial for Ebola is expected to start later this month and the organization is working to ensure there is access of the vaccine should they work in the trials.

At the same time WHO has continued to urge people to follow the stipulated Ebola precautions and guidelines given.

Kenya reported its first-ever confirmed Ebola case on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, after a Kenyan man who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain in Nairobi.

He later died on Monday night, October 5, with health authorities subsequently confirming the case and beginning contact tracing. So far, 10 people who came into contact with the diseased have been put in quarantine.

APERIT FM, HII NI YETU