Ebola outbreak expands in DRC as Kenya reports first imported death

The World Health Organization confirmed that the DRC's Ebola outbreak has expanded into a new eastern health zone and resulted in Kenya's first imported death.

A Kenyan citizen who lived in the DRC and recently returned to Nairobi tested positive for the virus and died. The case marks the country's first Ebola-related fatality and underscores the ongoing risk of cross-border transmission.

Inside the DRC, the virus reached Alimbongo health zone in North Kivu province for the first time. As of October 6, local health officials recorded four confirmed infections and two deaths in the area.

The national toll has risen sharply. The WHO reported 8,728 confirmed cases and 4,205 confirmed deaths across the DRC as of October 6. Medical teams have helped 2,269 patients recover. This brings the crude case fatality ratio to 48.2 percent.

Health authorities identified the outbreak as being caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The illness has now reached 64 health zones across seven provinces. Ituri province continues to hold the highest cumulative case count, while North Kivu records a growing share of new infections.