Kenya Confirms Eighth Ebola Case As Outbreak Spreads Regionally
Kenyan health officials indicate the newest case may stem from Kenya’s initial Ebola incident.
Published On 19 Oct 2026
Kenyan health authorities report an eighth Ebola case, raising the total number of known infections in the East African nation to eight.
Director‑General for Health Patrick Amoth told Kenya’s Citizen TV that among the 38 individuals tested on Sunday, one tested positive.
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“He is a 49‑year‑old man who is not a healthcare worker. He developed fever, headache and muscle pain,” he said.
Amoth said the man, who worked as a patient attendant cleaning utensils and linens, was likely exposed to Kenya’s first Ebola case, discovered earlier this month.
He developed symptoms on Saturday, was quarantined and tested for the virus, a Ministry of Health source reported.
The ministry reported four new cases on Saturday, three of whom were health workers who treated the country’s first Ebola patient, a man who travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Nairobi and died at a Nairobi hospital on October 5.
In a post on X, the ministry stated that the fourth individual was related to the deceased patient.
![Travellers walk at the Kenya immigration services to access port health services at the Busia One Stop Border Post, 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 Bundubugyo species at the Nairobi Hospital, in Busia, Kenya October 8, 2026 [James Keyi/Reuters]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==)
Kenya has been placed on heightened alert, as the Ebola outbreak has spilled across the border from the DRC. The current outbreak involves the bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is currently no vaccine or specific treatment.
The DRC has recorded at least 9,400 cases, including more than 4,500 deaths, marking the deadliest outbreak in the country’s history, which began in May.
Ituri province in eastern DRC remains the epicentre, accounting for nearly three‑quarters of confirmed cases, according to the government’s latest data. It announced on Sunday that the virus has reached an eighth province, North Ubangi.
State‑run news agency ACP reported on Sunday that authorities in North Kivu province — where the WHO noted ongoing substantial transmission — are instituting a one‑week ban effective Monday on people entering the province from Ituri to curb spread.
Other preventive measures include restrictions on passenger numbers in cars and on motorbikes and suspension of large public gatherings.
Neighboring Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases, including 15 imported from the DRC, and two deaths, before it was declared Ebola‑free in August.
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