According to Health Ministry Director General Patrick Amoth, the patient had been sick for about a month and had received treatment at several health facilities in the DRC.
Patient Travelled Through Uganda
The patient travelled by road from the DRC to Kampala as he made his way back to Kenya.
He later boarded a flight from Uganda and arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday, October 3, where he underwent the normal health screening.
Amoth said the patient may have passed the screening because medication he had been taking could have reduced or hidden some of his symptoms.
He explained that medicines used to lower fever, for example, could make it difficult for screening officers to detect signs of illness.
He Went Straight to Hospital
After completing the airport screening, the patient did not continue with his journey into the city.
Instead, a relative and a friend picked him up from JKIA and took him directly to Nairobi Hospital, which suggested that he knew he was seriously unwell.
Doctors quickly isolated him after he arrived and later moved him to the hospital’s East Wing isolation facility.
The patient showed several symptoms, including fever, chills, severe weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing and a sore throat.
Doctors also noticed bleeding beneath the skin at an injection site and collected a sample for testing because of his symptoms and travel history.
The test confirmed Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease.
Patient Later Died
The patient received supportive treatment at Nairobi Hospital but died at about 11:30pm on Monday.
Amoth said health officials had identified contacts and would isolate them for up to 21 days, which covers the maximum incubation period for Ebola.
Anyone who develops symptoms during isolation will be treated as a suspected case and transferred to an Ebola treatment unit for further care.
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