No additional Ebola case has been confirmed in Kenya following the death of the country's first confirmed patient, as health authorities continue monitoring 57 people who may have been exposed to the virus.

Kenya has recorded its first death from Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease after the country's only confirmed patient died in Nairobi, prompting intensified contact tracing and surveillance across the country.

The Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that 57 contacts linked to the case had been identified, with 10 already accounted for and placed under quarantine at the National Police Service Hospital in Nairobi. Authorities are continuing efforts to locate and monitor the remaining contacts.

The patient, a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), arrived in Nairobi on October 3 after travelling by road from the DRC through Kampala, Uganda. He was taken to Nairobi Hospital, isolated and tested after showing symptoms consistent with Ebola.

The World Health Organization said the patient died on the night of October 5, despite receiving supportive care. He was buried on October 6 under Kenya's safe and dignified burial procedures for Ebola cases.

No second case confirmed in Kenya

Despite the death, the Ministry of Health says Kenya has not recorded another confirmed Ebola case.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the country is not experiencing an Ebola outbreak, describing the confirmed infection as an imported case linked to the ongoing outbreak in the DRC.

Authorities are nevertheless monitoring people who may have come into contact with the patient, including family members, healthcare workers and people who travelled with him.

The government has also increased surveillance at points of entry and strengthened its ability to test suspected cases. More than 652,000 travellers have been screened, while 267 samples have been tested through Kenya's national laboratory network, according to the Ministry of Health.

Five facilities have been designated to isolate and manage suspected or confirmed cases, with Nairobi Hospital, Kenyatta National Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, National Police Service Hospital and Port Reitz Hospital providing a combined capacity for Ebola-related isolation and care.

Kenya is not the only country affected

Kenya's case is linked to the wider Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak that began in the DRC earlier this year.

The DRC continues to experience sustained transmission, with the outbreak having spread across 63 health zones in seven provinces by late September. WHO reported 7,773 cases and 3,759 deaths in the DRC as of September 30.

Volunteer health workers at an Ebola emergency response training session conducted by Médecins Sans Frontières in Ongata Rongai, Kenya, in August. | Photo: Daniel Irungu/EPA

Uganda also recorded cases earlier in the outbreak. It reported 20 confirmed cases and two deaths, but authorities declared the outbreak over in August after completing the required 42-day period without a new confirmed case.

The current outbreak has also resulted in a confirmed case in France involving a person linked to the DRC outbreak, making Kenya the fourth country to confirm a Bundibugyo virus disease case during the current outbreak.

Government steps up monitoring

President William Ruto has directed the National Security Council Committee to assess the situation and recommend additional measures following the patient's death.

The government is now focusing on identifying everyone who may have been exposed, monitoring contacts for symptoms and strengthening surveillance at Kenya's borders and other points of entry.

For now, health authorities maintain that there is no evidence of sustained Ebola transmission in Kenya. The focus remains on contact tracing and early detection to prevent the imported case from developing into wider community transmission.