Kenya has confirmed four additional Ebola infections within the country, all linked to the first confirmed case, raising the total number of cases to seven.
On Saturday, 17 Oct 2026 GMT+7, Kenya's Ministry of Health announced the detection of four new cases of the severe Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, increasing the confirmed total to seven cases.
This marks Kenya's first instance of domestic Ebola transmission, following the arrival of the initial patient from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on 3 Oct, who later died on 5 Oct. Authorities confirmed no evidence of community transmission and stated that the risk to the general public remains low.
The new cases include three healthcare workers—two men and one woman aged 29, 35, and 32—who cared for the first patient from 3 to 4 Oct. The fourth case is a man who is a relative of the deceased first patient.
All four new patients had been quarantined since 6 and 9 Oct and developed symptoms leading to confirmed Ebola diagnoses.
According to Kenya's Ministry of Health, officials have successfully traced and quarantined 128 of 130 registered close contacts, surpassing the international benchmark of 85% required to break transmission chains. Efforts continue to locate the remaining two contacts.
Currently, Kenya has not imposed any restrictions on travel, trade, or public gatherings. The second and third confirmed patients are stable and responding well to supportive care.
The outbreak in Kenya is connected to the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is experiencing the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history, with over 9,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths to date.
Follow international news here:https://www.thairath.co.th/news/foreign
Source:cna