Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has announced Kenya’s first case of the Ebola Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) disease.
The patient who was rushed to The Nairobi Hospital, one of the country’s premier private health facilities passed away while receiving treatment.
Duale has highlighted the patients travels from The Democratic Republic of Congo DRC through Uganda and to Kenya where he died.
The patient whose name has not been revealed reportedly fell sick in the DRC where he had been living and working for the last seven years.
He reportedly received treatment in the country that is the epicentre of the current Ebola outbreak. However, it is not clear whether the treatments are related to the Ebola infection or not.
He later travelled by road to the neighbouring Uganda where he boarded a plane en-route to Kenya. He boarded a Jambojet flight 8523 and arrived in Nairobi on October 3rd via the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) which is Kenya’s busiest airport.
“He underwent the normal public health scrutiny at JKIA and was transported by a relative and friend from JKIA using KDG 699Z Toyota Fielder to Nairobi Hospital, where he was isolated in an emergency room,” Duale noted.
The patient was received by a relative at the J.K.I.A. who transported him in a private vehicle to the Nairobi Hospital where he was isolated and tested.
“The doctors considered his case as that of a viral hemorrhagic fever and collected samples which turned positive for Ebola,” Duale noted.
He however died yesterday with his burial set for today in line with Ebola protocols.
CS Duale has said they are tracing 28 people who interacted with the patient and 23 passengers who boarded the flight with him from Kampala to JKIA.
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