Health officials in Wajir County have isolated a 20-year-old man in Habaswein after he developed symptoms consistent with a suspected viral haemorrhagic fever, following travel from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Samples have been collected for laboratory testing, and contact tracing has begun.
Patient Admitted at Albadar Nursing Home
The patient, a resident of Habaswein in Wajir South Sub-County, is admitted at Albadar Nursing Home.
He presented with fever, headache and cough, and was found to have severe anaemia, with a haemoglobin level of 4g/dL.
He remains clinically unwell.
Patient’s Travel History from the DRC to Kenya
According to a disease surveillance report filed at Habaswein Police Station, and reported by The Standard, the man told health officials he had been working in the DRC as a “tan boy” — a helper on a cargo truck or trailer.
He said he developed fever and headache while still in the DRC on 2 September 2026.
Journey Through Uganda, Malaba, Nairobi and Isiolo
- From there he travelled by trailer to Uganda, where he stayed about five days and was treated with antibiotics.
- He then continued by trailer to Malaba, and by motorcycle to a relative’s home, where he stayed for roughly five days.
- He later travelled by trailer to Nairobi, by bus to Isiolo, where he stayed about 10 days, and finally by Probox to Habaswein, arriving around 20 September.
Initial Treatment and Transfer to Albadar Nursing Home
On arrival he sought care at Hilac Medical Clinic and was managed for pneumonia and septicaemia for about three days.
His condition did not improve, and he was transferred to Albadar Nursing Home.
He has been receiving intravenous Augmentin and paracetamol and has been transfused with two units of whole blood.
Authorities Begin Isolation and Contact Tracing
Authorities have placed him in isolation while the cause of the illness is established.
Sample collection has been completed, and the specimen was due to be shipped to the National Public Health Laboratories for testing.
Health teams have also begun tracing people he may have come into contact with during his journey and since his return.
Viral Haemorrhagic Fever Remains Unconfirmed
The case is suspected, not confirmed.
Viral haemorrhagic fevers — a group that includes Ebola, Marburg and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever — can only be distinguished from more common febrile illnesses by laboratory testing.
Symptoms such as fever, headache and weakness also overlap with malaria, pneumonia and other infections widespread in the region .
Kenya Confirms First Imported Ebola Bundibugyo Case
The alert comes a day after the Ministry of Health confirmed Kenya’s first imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease.
That patient, a Kenyan who had lived in the DRC for seven years, travelled by road to Kampala and flew into Nairobi on 3 October on Jambojet flight 8523.
He was isolated at Nairobi Hospital, tested positive at both the National Virology Reference Laboratory and KEMRI, and died on the night of 5 October.
He was buried under safe-burial protocols.
That case is separate from the Habaswein patient, whose samples have not yet returned a result.
DRC Ebola Outbreak and Kenya’s Screening Measures
The DRC has been battling a Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak centred on Ituri Province since May 2026.
The World Health Organization declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 17 May.
Kenya has kept border and traveller screening heightened since the outbreak began.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said on 6 October that 652,584 travellers had been screened and 267 samples tested, with only the Nairobi case returning positive at that point.
Health Officials Await Laboratory Results
County and national surveillance teams are expected to update the public once laboratory results from the Habaswein patient are available.
Residents with fever after recent travel to the DRC, Uganda or other affected areas are advised to seek care at a health facility and report their travel history, rather than self-medicate.