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Thursday, October 15, 2026

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Safety · Thursday, October 15, 2026

Kenya confirms a second Ebola case: a family member of the first patient, found early in quarantine

Added 7:26 a.m. ET, Oct. 15

The File desk · Oct 15, 2026, 11:26 AM UTC

Status

Confirmed as the Kenya Ministry of Health press statement by Director General Dr. Patrick Amoth, datelined Nairobi, 14 October 2026. The statement does not give a new case total for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

  • Confirmed

    The ministry confirmed a second Bundibugyo virus disease case: a 39-year-old man, a close family member of the first patient, who fell ill on Oct. 13 while already in quarantine. Samples tested positive at the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the KEMRI-CDC laboratory, with matching results. He is in a designated treatment centre on supportive care.

  • Confirmed

    The ministry says Kenya has now recorded two confirmed cases and one death, that both cases are linked, and that there is no evidence of spread in the wider community.

  • Confirmed

    It listed 128 contacts of the first case. As of Oct. 13 it had traced 113: 108 in quarantine in Kenya, five outside Kenya and notified under the

    (2005), and 15 still being traced. It is assessing contacts of the second case, including quarantine staff and health workers.

Kenya’s Ministry of Health confirmed a second Bundibugyo Ebola case on Oct. 14: a 39-year-old close family member of the first patient who fell ill while already in quarantine. Samples matched at two labs. Kenya now has two confirmed cases and one death. Officials say both cases are linked and there is no evidence of wider community spread.

The statement is from Dr. Patrick Amoth, director general for health, datelined Nairobi, 14 October 2026. The file name on the ministry site says 13 October 2026. The dateline on the statement is 14 October.

The ministry says the patient is a 39-year-old man and a close family member of the first case. He was already in quarantine, under daily monitoring, when he fell ill on Oct. 13. When he developed fever, fatigue, and joint pains, the quarantine team isolated him and took a specimen. It tested positive at both the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the KEMRI-CDC laboratory, with matching results. He is in a designated treatment centre, where teams are giving him supportive care.

The ministry says Kenya has now recorded two confirmed cases and one death. It says both cases are linked, and there is no evidence of spread in the wider community.

It has listed 128 contacts of the first case. As of Oct. 13, it had traced 113. Of those, 108 are in quarantine in Kenya, with daily clinical and temperature checks for 21 days from their last possible exposure. Five are outside Kenya. The ministry says health authorities in those countries have been informed, as required under the

(2005). Tracing of the remaining 15 continues.

Teams are also assessing everyone who has been in contact with the second case since his symptoms began, including quarantine staff and health workers.

The ministry says the response is guided by the Public Health (Declaration of Formidable Epidemic Disease) Order, 2026 and the Public Health (Ebola Disease) Rules, 2026. It says the World Health Organization has been notified under the

(2005). Kenya remains open. The statement says there are no restrictions on travel, trade, or public gatherings.

The ministry says Ebola is not spread through the air. It spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with the disease, or who has died from it.

This statement does not give a new case total for the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. None is added here.

What is still unknown or disputed

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Second Ebola case detected early: contact tracing and quarantine working

    Kenya Ministry of Health · October 14, 2026

    The Ministry of Health confirms a second case of Ebola (Bundibugyo Virus Disease) in Kenya. The patient, a 39-year-old man, is a close family member of the first case and was already in quarantine when he fell ill on 13 October 2026. Kenya has now recorded two confirmed cases and one death. Both cases are linked, and there is no evidence of spread in the wider community. The response is guided by the Public Health (Declaration of Formidable Epidemic Disease) Order, 2026 and the Public Health (Ebola Disease) Rules, 2026. The World Health Organization has been notified in line with the (2005).

    https://health.go.ke/sites/default/files/2026-10/Press%20statement_Ebola_13%20October%202026.pdf

  2. Source 2

    Press statement_Ebola_13 October 2026

    Kenya Ministry of Health · October 15, 2026

    The ministry page titles the item Press statement_Ebola_13 October 2026 and attaches the PDF. The submission date on the page is Thu, 10/15/2026. The page does not print the case counts.

    https://www.health.go.ke/node/2699