Kenya Confirms Its First Imported Ebola Case as Congo Passes 8,700

Kenya confirmed an imported case in a patient who had traveled from Congo through Uganda and died on October 5, WHO said October 8; contact tracing began in Kenya and Uganda. As of October 6, Congo had recorded 8,728 confirmed cases and 4,205 deaths across 64 health zones.

WHO declared the outbreak, first confirmed in May, a public health emergency of international concern on May 17. Bundibugyo virus is one of the Ebola viruses; there is no licensed vaccine for it, and it spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of sick people.