How prepared is Kenya for an Ebola outbreak?

The first two confirmed cases of Ebola in Kenya have raised urgent questions about the country's public health preparedness and border control. But the Ministry of Health says there is no need to panic.

Lucy Riley Isaac Mugabe Felix Maringa

10/16/2026 16 October 2026 The first two confirmed cases of Ebola in Kenya have raised urgent questions about the country's public health preparedness and border controls. But the Ministry of Health says there is no need to panic.

Kenya is rushing to contain Ebola, linked to the deadliest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The East African country has reported two cases and one death, while the Democratic Republic of Congo has reported more than 9,000 cases and 4,400 deaths.

Kenya's first Ebola patient died on October 5 at a Nairobi hospital. The 40-year-old Kenyan man had traveled by road from the Republic of Congo to Uganda before boarding a flight to Nairobi in Entebbe on October 3.

Now it has been confirmed that one of his relatives has contracted the virus. The 39-year-old man was in quarantine on October 13. "Both cases are linked and there is no evidence of community spread," Kenya's health ministry said.

Contact tracing has been ongoing since authorities first identified the case. According to the Ministry of Health, out of 128 people who were in contact with the first Ebola patient, 113 people have been identified. All but five - who are overseas in unspecified countries - have been quarantined.

Should Kenyans be worried about the Ebola outbreak?

Public concern is on the rise with fears of quarantine and economic disruption and doubts about government preparedness.

"It's a dangerous disease, so it's very shocking. I don't think the government was well prepared, especially at the point of entry of this particular person who was found to have Ebola," this resident of Nairobi told DW.

One woman said she felt there was a lack of public information about the disease. He said: "The government should make more efforts in the field of education and sensitivity about it and increase awareness.

Kenya's Ministry of Health, through its Cabinet Secretary, Aden Dowell, is seeking to allay fears, urging Kenyans to remain vigilant and encouraging anyone developing symptoms to report to the nearest medical facility. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), symptoms may develop between 2 and 21 days after infection.

Initial symptoms include: fever, fatigue, lethargy, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. Later, the patient may experience vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and kidney and liver infection.

However, these symptoms may resemble other diseases such as malaria or typhoid, and only an Ebola test can confirm that a person has been exposed to the virus.

Several prominent figures, medical unions and opposition politicians have criticized Kenya's response to the first cases of Ebola. Former Chief Justice David Maraga, who has expressed interest in running for the 2027 presidential election, questioned how a man carrying the Ebola virus could pass screening at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi.

"We don't know how many people have been infected. We have to want to take appropriate measures so that we don't have deaths from that disease," Maraga told The Standard.

Kalenzo Musyoka, Kenya's vice president from 2008 to 2013, meanwhile noted that Nairobi hospital doctors, not border systems, detected the danger.

Dr Dennis Miskela of the Kenya Doctors, Pharmacists and Dentists Union believes the Ebola cases show Kenya's health system is unprepared for a pandemic. He said: "This system is not yet resilient. This system did not learn from the Covid epidemic we had a few years ago."

"Since May, we have had these outbreaks in the region. Uganda, our immediate neighbor, had almost 20 cases. So, we had enough time to prepare adequately. But it seems that someone dropped the ball."

Kenya went on alert after the Democratic Republic of Congo declared an Ebola outbreak in May. The government designated several hospitals as isolation centers.

It also increased screening at airports and border points and deployed mobile laboratories. Flights from several African countries were ordered to land at designated airport wings.

Where are the gaps in Kenya's health system?

"Most importantly, there has been a serious lack of leadership in this country's health department," Miskelele said. "All those broken pillars, no clear responsibility or chain of command, whether it's the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Health. 47 county governments that are semi-autonomous."

The capacity of some isolated centers is limited. According to Miskellah, rural facilities lack the same resources as protective equipment found in large hospitals. And there is also a shortage of health workers due to the suspension of public service workers.

Meanwhile, health care workers, many of whom lack health care coverage, are reportedly wary of putting their lives at risk. Dozens of Kenyan nurses and doctors have died during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Kenya's agreements with its neighbors on Ebola have been called into question since the first case was recorded in Kenya, which has one of the strongest health care systems in the region.

Experts are questioning the state of regional cooperation on Ebola, where borders remain largely open despite rising cases and deaths. "Before we trust these agreements and cooperation, we need to audit them and question them so that we don't blindly believe that Kenya is doing the right thing or that the DRC is doing the right thing," Miskela said.

Then, the question of individual responsibility arises. Kenya requires travelers coming from Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Angola, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi, Central African Republic and South Sudan to complete a health declaration form.