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Kenya Confirms Third Bundibugyo Ebola Case Linked to Imported Patient

WHO is supporting Kenya’s containment response while partners prepare vaccine trials for a Bundibugyo strain that has no licensed vaccine.

A Kenyan health worker checks the temperatures of travelers crossing from Uganda to Kenya as part of measures to contain the spread of Ebola virus, in Busia, Kenya, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
Image
A medical worker directs motorcyclists to the health port at the Malaba crossing-point between Kenya and Uganda after a man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo travelled and died of a new Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo species at the Nairobi Hospital, in Malaba, Kenya October 8, 2026. REUTERS/Jackson Adika
People disinfect their hands as a Kenyan health worker checks the temperatures of travelers crossing from Uganda to Kenya as part of measures to contain the spread of Ebola virus, in Busia, Kenya, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Overview

  • Kenya’s health ministry confirmed on Friday that a 65-year-old woman tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain while in quarantine and is a close relative of the first patient who died after arriving from the DRC.
  • All three confirmed cases are epidemiologically linked to the imported patient and were identified through contact tracing and quarantine, with officials reporting no evidence of community transmission.
  • Authorities have traced and quarantined most contacts, reporting about 127 of 130 people located, but a small number of contacts and some passengers remain difficult to find which complicates follow-up.
  • WHO, Africa CDC and partners have supplied training, protective gear and lab support and have advised against travel bans while preparing Phase 2/3 vaccine trials because no licensed vaccine exists for Bundibugyo.
  • The cases are tied to a large DRC outbreak that has produced thousands of cases and deaths, and the situation increases pressure on border screening, trust in public health measures, and the need for transparent funding and sustained surveillance.