Why single Ebola death in Kenya has prompted fears of wider African spread

Kenya reported its first death from a deadly strain of Ebola virus which had spread widely, starting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) earlier this year.

The Bundibugyo (BDBV) strain of Ebola was first detected in Uganda in 2007, according to the WHO. The ongoing outbreak in the DRC has killed at least 4,148 people out of 8,300 reported cases. It also spread across the border to Uganda, which had about 20 cases before being declared Ebola-free in July.

However, the person who died in Kenya from the disease had travelled from the DRC to Uganda over land before taking a flight to Nairobi, raising questions about Uganda’s status as “Ebola-free”, concerns about the rigidity of Kenya’s screening processes for people coming into the country and fears that Ebola may have spread further than previously thought.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization said the Kenyan government is now enhancing its disease surveillance with more targeted screening at high-risk points of entry.

But Wolfgang Preiser, a professor and head of medical virology at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, explained that while efforts are being made to bring the outbreak under control, it has grown so much that “sheer numbers and the speed of spread are overwhelming for many systems.

“I am not surprised that cases have reached other provinces in DRC and neighbouring countries. I expect that this will continue to happen until such time that the trajectory has been reversed and case numbers are in decline,” he told Al Jazeera.

It is a serious, potentially deadly viral infection which can be caught when a person comes into contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or wild animal, including fluid lingering on surfaces. People have also been known to contract the disease through eating contaminated meat.

There have been many outbreaks in Central, West and East Africa.