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3w ago

Suspected Second Ebola Case in Wajir Ruled Out; Malaria Confirmed

Nairobi reference lab cleared the 20-year-old of Bundibugyo Ebola, a result that eases immediate transmission fears while keeping border screening and contact tracing under pressure.

Health workers conduct temperature screenings and health checks on travellers at the Kanyaruchinya checkpoint in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 24.
A health worker cleans PPE at the Mulago National Referral Hospital isolation unit in Kampala, Uganda, on July 8.
A nurse is assisted by a colleague in donning personal protective equipment (PPE) at an isolation facility prepared to receive potential Ebola patients at Nairobi Hospital, Kenya, on October 7.
A security guard and staff members wearing face masks are seen at Nairobi Hospital on Wednesday.

Overview

  • Kenyan health officials and Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi reported that samples sent to the National Public Health Virology Laboratory in Nairobi tested negative for Ebola and positive for malaria.
  • The patient is a 20-year-old man who traveled from eastern DRC through Uganda before arriving in Kenya, mirroring the route of the earlier imported fatal Bundibugyo case.
  • Kenya confirmed its first imported Bundibugyo Ebola case after a Kenyan who lived in the DRC died in Nairobi on October 6; health teams have been tracing contacts from that case and from shared travel routes.
  • The World Health Organization and Africa CDC are working with Kenyan authorities to strengthen passenger follow-up, improve screening at entry points, and support rapid testing and isolation capacity.
  • Health experts note that Bundibugyo virus has no licensed vaccine or proven specific treatment, so early detection, isolation and contact tracing remain the main tools to prevent onward spread.