Gov’t heightens Ebola surveillance as WHO raises alarm over DRC outbreak

The Ministry of Health has stepped up national surveillance and response measures to guard against a possible importation of the Ebola virus.

The number of suspected Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda has risen to 600, with 139 suspected deaths.

The ministry says the situation in DRC remains a major concern due to strong regional links through road transport, air travel, trade and cross-border movement of people.

According to Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, Kenya remains free of the deadly Ebola virus, with surveillance measures further heightened to minimise the risk of spread.

As of May 18, 2026, 34,500 travellers, including 18,552 international, 5,848 local, 2,514 truck drivers and 4,729 conveyances, had been screened across the country.

Additional preparedness measures include the deployment of an online passenger surveillance system, population mobility mapping in high-risk border regions, enhanced airport surveillance through the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), and strengthened cross-border coordination.

Duale, in a statement, says Kenya has also enhanced laboratory preparedness and diagnostic capacity through designated testing facilities at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI).

The ministry says it is also mapping ambulance capacity in high-risk counties with support from the Kenya Red Cross Society, while strengthening engagement with private hospitals to improve early detection, referral and reporting systems.

WHO has declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, while maintaining that it has not reached pandemic level.

“Beyond the confirmed cases, there are almost 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths. We expect those numbers to keep increasing, given the amount of time the virus was circulating before the outbreak was detected,” said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The WHO says the virus may have been spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCI) undetected for several months.

“Investigations are ongoing to ascertain when and where exactly this outbreak started. Given the scale, we are thinking that it has started probably a couple of months ago, but investigations are ongoing, and our priority is really to cut the transmission chain by implementing contact tracing, isolating, and caring for all suspects and confirmed cases,” stated WHO Technical Officer in Health Emergencies Programme Anais Legand.

Addressing the media from Geneva, Switzerland, the WHO Director-General and his technical team said the current virus strain identified as Bundibugyo, has not been seen for more than a decade and there is no approved vaccine or therapeutics, limiting treatment and prevention options.

“There is an RVSV Bundibugyo vaccine. So this would be the equivalent of Ervebo, which would be specific for Bundibugyo. There are no doses of this which are currently available for clinical trial. So this needs to be prioritised as the most promising Bundibugyo candidate vaccine. The information that we have is that this is likely to take six to nine months,” said WHO Senior Advisor on Research and Development Vasee Moorthy.

The World Health Organization has warned that while the global risk remains low, the outbreak continues to pose a high risk at both national and regional levels, requiring sustained international attention and coordinated action to prevent further spread.