Kenya confirms eighth Ebola case amid widening regional outbreak

Kenyan health authorities say latest patient was likely exposed to the country’s first Ebola case.Kenyan health authorities say an eighth Ebola case has been detected, bringing 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 of the 38 people tested on Sunday, one had returned a positive result.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Kenya records third Ebola case, linked to first patient who diedlist 2 of 3Kenya’s Health Ministry confirms second Ebola caselist 3 of 3Kenya’s Ebola cases test preparedness beyond Nairobiend of list“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 said.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 said the fourth person was related to the deceased patient.Travellers enter Kenya’s immigration services to access port health services at the Busia One Stop Border Post, a crossing point between Kenya and Uganda, in Busia, Kenya, on October 8, 2026 [James Keyi/Reuters]Kenya has been on heightened alert, as the Ebola outbreak has spilled across the border from the DRC. The current outbreak is of the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no vaccine or specific treatment.The DRC has recorded at least 9,400 cases, including more than 4,500 deaths, in the deadliest outbreak in the country’s history, which started in May.