The Ministry of Health has confirmed a second case of Ebola (Bundibugyo virus disease) in Kenya. The patient is a 39-year-old man who is a close family member of the first case. He was already in quarantine and under daily monitoring when he fell ill on Monday, October 13, 2026. With this case, Kenya has now recorded two confirmed cases and one death.
The Ministry says the system worked the way it was supposed to. Once the man developed fever, fatigue and joint pains, the quarantine team isolated him and took a sample. The test came back positive at both the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the KEMRI-CDC laboratory, and the results matched.
He has since been moved to a designated treatment centre, where health workers are giving him supportive care. Because he was already under watch, his illness was caught early, and officials say that gives him a better chance of recovery.
On contact tracing, the Ministry says both cases are linked and there is no evidence that the virus has spread into the wider community. The first case had 128 contacts. As of October 13, health teams had traced 113 of them. Of those, 108 are in quarantine in Kenya, where they are being checked every day, both for symptoms and temperature, for 21 days from their last possible exposure.
Five contacts are outside the country, and authorities in those countries have been informed. Teams are still looking for the remaining 15. Health workers are also checking everyone who has been in contact with the second patient since he first got sick, including quarantine staff.
The Ministry has asked anyone who develops symptoms to go to the nearest health facility without delay. Those symptoms include fever, unusual tiredness, muscle or joint pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and unexplained bleeding. Anyone who shows these signs will be isolated and tested straight away.
Health workers have also been reminded to follow strict infection prevention rules, whatever condition they are treating, and the Ministry says quarantine and treatment sites have the protective equipment they need.
The Ministry also wants Kenyans to stay calm but alert. Officials stressed that Ebola does 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. The Ministry asked the public to respect the privacy of the affected families and to rely only on official Ministry of Health updates.
Importantly, the government says Kenya remains open. There are no restrictions on travel, trade or public gatherings for now. The response is being guided by the Public Health (Ebola Disease) Rules, 2026 and the Public Health (Declaration of Formidable Epidemic Disease) Order, 2026, and it is being coordinated under one national command.
The World Health Organization has been notified in line with the International Health Regulations of 2005. Anyone who needs information can call the toll-free line 719.
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