Health officials in Tanzania are already getting worried now. This is after reports went round that Ebola has entered Kenya.

Kenya has confirmed its first imported case of the new Ebola Virus Disease.

Tanzania has all reasons to be concerned; there are more movements and interactions between the country and Kenya than any other state in the region.

This now marks a new development in the regional outbreak which began in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and has already crossed several national borders.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced the case on Tuesday, October 6, saying the patient was a Kenyan who had lived in the DR Congo for about seven years before returning home through Uganda.

Even worse, the patient later died while receiving treatment in Nairobi.

How many other people in Kenya and Uganda came into contact with the victim before health officials discovered the situation?

“The Ministry of Health wishes to inform members of the public that it has confirmed the first imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease,” Duale said during a press briefing in Nairobi.

According to the Kenyan Ministry of Health, the patient had developed illness about a month before returning to Kenya and had received treatment at several health facilities in the DRC.

He travelled by road to Uganda before taking a flight to Nairobi on Saturday, October 3.

The patient arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at about 1:10 p.m., underwent routine public-health screening and proceeded through immigration.

He was then taken directly from the airport to Nairobi Hospital by relatives and a friend, where he was isolated and subsequently tested positive for the Bundibugyo virus.

The patient died on Monday night while receiving treatment.

Kenyan authorities have not publicly identified him, consistent with responsible health reporting that protects the privacy and dignity of patients and their families.

The confirmation has triggered intensified contact tracing rather than a declaration of widespread transmission in Kenya.

Authorities have identified 28 people who had direct contact with the patient, including relatives and healthcare workers, while officials are also tracing passengers and crew members connected to his journey from Uganda to Nairobi.

Kenya confirms its first Ebola death as outbreak spreads

 Health authorities said the identified contacts will be monitored for 21 days, the period used to observe whether symptoms develop following potential exposure.

The approach is aimed at detecting any additional infections early and preventing possible onwards transmission.

Kenya had already been preparing for such a possibility.

Months before the first case was confirmed, its Ministry of Health had strengthened screening at airports and land borders, expanded laboratory capacity and trained healthcare workers in Ebola preparedness.

In June, the ministry said more than 71,000 travelers had been screened and 22 Ebola alerts investigated, with all those tests negative at the time.

More than 1,000 healthcare workers had also received specialized Ebola preparedness training.

Those preparations now face their first major test following the confirmed imported case.

Duale, however, urged Kenyans not to panic, stressing that the government had systems in place to respond to the infection.

“I wish to reassure the public not to panic, as all systems are in place to mitigate the spread of the disease,” he said.

The Ministry of Health has advised members of the public to maintain basic hygiene, including regular handwashing or the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and to avoid close contact with people who are sick and may have recently travelled from areas experiencing active Ebola transmission.

People who become unwell are being encouraged to seek care at recognized health facilities and report suspected cases.

Uganda, which lies between the DRC and Kenya along the route taken by the patient, previously recorded 20 confirmed cases and two confirmed deaths in the current outbreak.

The World Health Organization said Uganda had not reported new cases since June and subsequently declared the outbreak there over in August.

Kenya’s first case therefore adds another layer to an outbreak whose regional dimension has been shaped by cross-border travel, trade and movement of people.

For now, the key public-health question in Kenya is not simply whether Ebola has entered the country; it has, but whether the infection has generated any secondary transmission.

That will depend heavily on the effectiveness of contact tracing, the speed of testing and isolation, infection-prevention measures in health facilities and the cooperation of people who may have been exposed.

Across the wider outbreak, the DR Congo had recorded 8,544 confirmed cases and 4,114 deaths, giving a 48.2 percent case-fatality rate, while Uganda had recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths before ending its outbreak response.