Health authorities in Kenya have verified the country's initial fatality related to the ongoing Ebola epidemic. The victim was a Kenyan national who spent the previous seven years residing in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to Health Minister Aden Duale, the individual became sick approximately a month ago and sought medical care at multiple facilities within DR Congo. The patient subsequently traveled by road to the Ugandan capital of Kampala before catching a commercial flight to Nairobi over the weekend.

Upon landing at the primary airport in Nairobi, the traveler completed standard public screening procedures before a relative transported him to a local medical center. He was later moved to a specialized isolation unit originally established during the pandemic, where his condition deteriorated with symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and hemorrhaging.

Medical personnel suspected a viral hemorrhagic fever due to his clinical presentation and recent travel background, prompting them to submit samples for laboratory analysis. Testing ultimately confirmed the presence of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus.

The patient passed away late Monday evening, and preparations for a safe burial under strict public health protocols were scheduled for Tuesday. Public health teams have successfully located at least 28 close contacts, including relatives and medical staff, who may have been exposed. Additionally, officials are actively tracking down four flight crew members and 23 other passengers who shared the same aircraft.

The current public health emergency in DR Congo has claimed more than 4,000 lives this year, marking it as the second most lethal recorded outbreak of the virus in history. Earlier in the year, the epidemic briefly crossed into Uganda, though the World Health Organization declared that nation free of the disease in August after two fatalities were reported there.

The strain driving the current regional health crisis is the rare Bundibugyo species, which is known to be highly contagious. At present, medical science lacks fully approved vaccines or specialized treatments specifically for this particular strain, though various experimental therapies have undergone testing. Since the emergence of this specific viral variant, global health monitors have documented thousands of total cases and fatalities across the affected region.

Reporting based on coverage first published by BBC News. Read the original report at BBC News.