Somalia quarantines man who came into contact with Kenyan Ebola victim
Blood sample drawn from patients suspected to be infected with Ebola should be tested within a short time to avoid further transmission.
Somalia says it has quarantined a man who encountered a Kenyan Ebola victim who died last week after travelling from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda.
The Ministry of Health and Human Services announced that the Somali citizen had travelled with a Kenyan man who was later confirmed to have died of Ebola in Nairobi on October 5, 2026.
Although the man, a Somali citizen, in question has not tested positive for the disease, he was placed in quarantine on October 11 after authorities learnt that he had travelled with an Ebola victim.
The citizen was taken to the Ebola Quarantine and Treatment Centre at Forlanini Hospital in Mogadishu, one of the oldest health facilities and also known as Lazzaretti, for medical assessment.
The ministry said Somalia’s International Health Regulations (IHR) office received an official notification about the citizen from its Ugandan counterpart on October 10, according to a statement on Tuesday.
“Somalia’s IHR office received an official notification from Uganda on the evening of 10 October 2026, stating that a Somali citizen and a Kenyan citizen had travelled together from the Democratic Republic of Congo via Uganda,” it said.
The Ugandan report included the Somali citizen’s name, passport number and flight details, including his seat number, which facilitated his tracing and identification.
The ministry said the information was handled by officials designated for the investigation and follow-up. The Kenyan victim, also a man, had travelled from eastern DRC to Uganda via road before boarding a Jambojet flight on October 3. He was taken to the Nairobi Hospital by a relative but died shortly later.
The Kenyan government has since followed up on most contacts the man encountered in Kenya but has reported no new case of Ebola. However, it will have to wait 21 days to declare the end of Ebola, as per regulations.
Somalia recently began screening travellers arriving from African countries after Kenya confirmed an imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease.
On October 11, Somalia’s Immigration and Nationality Agency confirmed the citizen’s arrival at Mogadishu airport, where he underwent standard travel health screening procedures that raised no concerns.
On Thursday, Somalia’s Health Minister, Dr Ali Haji Adan, said that medical teams had been deployed to airports to monitor passengers.
“We have deployed a medical team to the airport to monitor flights arriving from African countries. We are now intensifying our preparedness after Ebola reached Kenya,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, the ministry urged the public to remain vigilant, avoid spreading unverified information and follow official health guidance.
As a preparedness measure, health authorities and the World Health Organisation (WHO) Somalia completed a three-day national simulation exercise in Mogadishu on 20 September 2026 to test detection and response protocols for potential imported cases.
In line with neighbouring countries in the region, Somalia remains focused on surveillance and border preparedness as an active and severe Ebola outbreak continues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
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