The Nairobi Hospital has stepped up infection-control measures, contact tracing and staff monitoring after a patient treated at the facility was confirmed to have Ebola Virus Disease, the hospital said in an internal memo dated October 6, 2026.
The hospital said the Ministry of Health had formally confirmed the case as the first imported Ebola case.
It said it immediately intensified infection-prevention measures after Ebola was suspected, including isolating the patient and restricting access to the designated clinical area.
The hospital is working with the Ministry of Health and national public health authorities to identify people who may have been exposed and assess their level of risk, it said.
“The Nairobi Hospital wishes to provide all staff and ASA doctors with an update regarding the patient recently managed at the Hospital who has now been confirmed to have Ebola Virus Disease,” Chief Executive Officer Felix Osano said in the memo.
The Ministry of Health has formally announced this as the first confirmed imported case of Ebola Virus Disease in Kenya.
The hospital’s infection prevention and control and occupational health teams are conducting a risk assessment of potentially exposed staff in collaboration with the ministry, it said.
Staff who had relevant contact with the patient will be contacted individually, assessed according to their level of risk and monitored under ministry protocols.
The hospital said simply working at the facility, being in the same department or being in the general vicinity of the patient did not by itself constitute exposure.
“Ebola is transmitted primarily through direct contact with blood or other body fluids of an infected symptomatic person or contaminated materials,” Osano said.
Risk depends on the nature of contact with the patient, procedures performed and whether appropriate personal protective equipment was used, the hospital said.
The facility has identified and documented healthcare workers and others who had direct interaction with the patient and is reviewing the patient’s movements through the hospital from initial presentation through subsequent care.
Measures include increased use of personal protective equipment, strict hand hygiene, enhanced environmental cleaning and decontamination, safe handling of laboratory specimens and controlled disposal of potentially contaminated clinical waste and linen.
The hospital has also ordered immediate reporting and assessment of any protective-equipment breach, splash, sharps injury or unprotected exposure to blood or other body fluids.
Staff who believe they had unprotected contact with the patient’s blood or body fluids, experienced a protective-equipment breach or sustained a sharps injury have been urged to report immediately to the infection prevention and control or occupational health teams.
Those identified as contacts will receive guidance on monitoring and any additional measures required, the hospital said.
The facility has also strengthened screening and early recognition at its Accident and Emergency Department and other entry points, with emphasis on travel history, epidemiological risk assessment, early recognition of suspected cases and immediate isolation.
The hospital said it remained on heightened Ebola alert and would continue working with the Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies.
“Our objective is clear: to identify every potentially significant exposure, interrupt any possible chain of transmission and protect our staff, patients, families and the wider community,” Osano said.
The hospital also cautioned staff against sharing photographs, laboratory reports, clinical records or other identifiable patient information through WhatsApp, social media or unofficial channels.
It urged staff to remain vigilant and follow established protocols as the response continues.
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