No cause for alarm: Suspected Ebola case in Kiambu cleared

Workers from the Uganda Red Cross Society don protective suits as they prepare to evacuate the body of a suspected Ebola victim in Kampala on May 26, 2026. [AFP]

The Ministry of Health has ruled out an Ebola Virus Disease case after a Turkish national presenting with Ebola-like symptoms  checked into AAR Hospital along Kiambu Road on Monday.

Laboratory tests on the patient returned negative, the latest in a series of Ebola scares across the country that have all cleared.

Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni in a statement on Wednesday, June 3, said 18 samples collected from Ebola alerts in several counties, including Nairobi, Kiambu, Uasin Gishu, Nyeri, Nakuru, Nyamira, West Pokot and Kisumu, have all tested negative.

"Laboratory analysis has confirmed that the patient tested negative for Ebola Virus Disease. Based on the epidemiological investigations conducted and the laboratory findings, the reported case is not Ebola," said Muthoni.

Muthoni noted the ministry worked with the Kiambu County Department of Health and public health experts to track the patient before the all-clear was issued.

"We recognise that information relating to Ebola can cause concern among members of the public, and we wish to provide an official update based on the findings of ongoing public health investigations," she added.

The Turkish national arrived at the hospital at around 11pm while reportedly exhibiting symptoms associated with Ebola.

Nairobi County and Sub-County Public Health officials were immediately notified and took over the matter. Samples from the patient were taken to the National Public Health Laboratory for examination and analysis.

The incident unfolds as Kenya grapples with heightened Ebola anxiety on multiple fronts.

Kenya has activated a national incident management system through the Kenya National Public Health Institute, with rapid response teams on standby 24 hours a day due to an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

The government has identified 25 counties as being at elevated risk, with 12 classified as very high risk and 13 as high risk.

The very high-risk counties include Nairobi, Mombasa, Uasin Gishu, Busia, Kisumu, Bungoma, Trans-Nzoia, Siaya, West Pokot, Turkana, Homabay and Migori.

At the same time, High Court has ordered the government to disclose details of a proposed United States-linked Ebola quarantine facility, after hundreds of people took to the streets in Nanyuki to protest the planned site.

The facility, located at Laikipia Air Base, is intended for Americans potentially exposed to the virus in the DRC.