Kenya prepared for Ebola. It still slipped through — a warning of wider cross-border spread

Kenya had spent months preparing for Ebola, one of the world’s deadliest viral diseases, screening hundreds of thousands of travelers and training nearly 5,000 health workers in case it crossed the borders. A man who had been ill for weeks and was later confirmed to have Ebola left eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), crossed by road into neighboring Uganda and flew to Nairobi, passing airport health screening in both countries without being flagged. A relative and a friend drove him directly from the airport to the Nairobi Hospital, a private hospital in the Kenyan capital.

By the time he arrived on October 3, he had a fever, chills, severe fatigue, muscle pain and bleeding beneath his skin, according to Kenya’s Ministry of Health. Doctors isolated him and tests later confirmed Bundibugyo virus, a form of Ebola. He died days later on Monday, and health officials have been trying to identify anyone who may have been exposed.

His journey shows how quickly an outbreak centered in the DRC can become a wider regional problem. The outbreak is now the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the country. As of Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) had recorded 8,728 confirmed cases and 4,205 deaths in the DRC.

Cases have been recorded across seven provinces. WHO says transmission remains intense and assesses the risk to countries sharing land borders with the DRC as high. The DRC is not the only country affected.

Uganda recorded 20 cases before its health ministry declared the country Ebola-free on July 28, while France recorded a travel-related case with no additional cases reported. Kenya is now the fourth country to confirm Bundibugyo virus. Oyewale Tomori, a former WHO regional virologist for Africa, told CNN that the Kenya case warns that more infections could cross borders while transmission remains high in the DRC.

“Africa is an open field divided into countries by poorly manned porous borders,” he said. “The Kenya case is a warning of more cases in the future.” A security guard and staff members wearing face masks are seen at Nairobi Hospital on Wednesday. On October 2, he traveled by road through Beni in eastern DRC’s North Kivu province to Kamp…