How prepared is Kenya for an Ebola outbreak?

How prepared is Kenya for an Ebola outbreak?

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

Kenya has confirmed a second Ebola case, detected early while the patient was in quarantine. Both cases are linked, with no evidence of spread in the wider community. Call 719 for guidance. #EbolaAlertKE pic.twitter.com/zZqy4XhUZC

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Contact tracing has been ongoing since officials first detected the case. Of the 128 people who came into contact with the first Ebola patient, 113 have been identified, according to the health ministry. All, except five - who are in unspecified countries abroad - have been quarantined.Should Kenyans worry about Ebola spreading?Public anxiety is rising, along with fears of lockdowns and economic disruption, and scepticism about government readiness."It's a very dangerous disease, so it's very shocking," a Nairobi resident told DW.Another citizen said he was disappointed: "The government has been caught unaware. It appears to me that the government was not prepared, especially at the entry point of this particular person who was found to be suffering from Ebola."One woman said she felt there was a lack of public information on the disease. "The government should do more in educating and sensitising about it, and raising awareness," she said.Kenya's Health Ministry, through Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, has been seeking to allay fears, urging Kenyans to remain vigilant and encouraging anyone who develops symptoms to report to the nearest medical facility. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), symptoms can develop between two and 21 days after infection.Health CS Aden Duale (left) has sought to calm the nation as health officials rush to contain the virus from spreading. (Photo: Monicah Mwangi/Reuters via DW)Early symptoms include: fever, fatigue, malaise, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. Later, a patient may suffer from vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and kidney and liver infection.However, these symptoms might be similar to other illnesses such as malaria or typhoid, and only an Ebola test can confirm if one has been exposed to the virus.Criticism and calls to improve screeningSeveral prominent figures, medical unions and opposition politicians have criticised Kenya's response to its first Ebola cases.Former Chief Justice David Maraga, who has declared interest in running for the presidency in the 2027 election, questioned how a man carrying the Ebola virus could pass through screening at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi."We don't know how many have been infected. We must demand appropriate action be taken so that we don't have deaths arising from that disease," Maraga told The Standard.Kalonzo Musyoka, Kenya's vice president from 2008 to 2013, meanwhile noted that doctors at Nairobi Hospital, not border systems, detected the danger.Dennis Miskellah of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union believes that the Ebola cases show that Kenya's health system is not pandemic-ready. "This system is not yet resilient. This system did not learn from the COVID pandemic that we had a few years ago," he said.Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union Deputy Secretary General Dennis Miskellah. (Photo: Handout)"Since May, we've had this outbreak in the region. Uganda, our immediate neighbour, had almost 20 cases. So, we had ample time to prepare adequately. But it seems like somebody dropped the ball."Kenya went on high alert after the DRC declared the Ebola outbreak in May. The government designated several hospitals as isolation centres.It also enhanced screening at airports and border points, deploying mobile labs. Flights from several African countries were ordered to land in designated airport wings for screening.Where are the gaps in Kenya's health system?"Top of it all is that there has been a serious lapse of leadership in governance of healthcare in this country," said Miskellah. "All those broken pillars, there's no clear responsibility or chain of command, whether it's the Ministry of Health or the 47 county governments who are semi-autonomous."Capacity at some isolation centres is limited. Rural facilities lack resources such as the protective gear available at major hospitals, according to Miskellah. And there's also a shortage of health workers due to a freeze on public service workers.Meanwhile, healthcare workers, many of whom have no healthcare cover, are reportedly wary of putting their lives at risk. Dozens of Kenyan nurses and doctors lost their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.What makes this Ebola outbreak differentKenya's agreements on Ebola with its neighbours are being called into question since the first case was recorded in Kenya, which has one of the strongest healthcare systems in the region.A screengrab of the Ebola victim's burial at Lang'ata Cemetery in Nairobi on October 6, 2026.Experts are questioning the state of regional cooperation on Ebola, given that borders have largely remained open despite the surge in cases and deaths."Before we trust these agreements and cooperation, then we have to audit them and question them so that we don't just blindly believe that Kenya is doing the right thing, or that the DRC is doing the right thing," said Miskellah.Then, there's the question of individual responsibility. Kenya requires travellers arriving from Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Angola, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi, the Central African Republic and South Sudan to complete a health declaration form - truthfully.