The World Health Organization has told Kenya not to shut its borders following the country's first confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola case, saying travel bans would do little to stop the virus.

WHO Director‑General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on October 7 that the agency does not support blanket travel or trade restrictions, preferring practical screenings at designated entry points.

Tedros told Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health, Aden Duale, that countries reporting cases promptly should not be punished with isolation or bans, emphasizing that transparency must be rewarded.

Kenya confirmed the first case on October 3 – a Kenyan man who travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo via Kampala, Uganda, and arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport before being isolated at Nairobi Hospital, where he later died.

Health officials have placed ten people in quarantine and are tracing 57 additional contacts, including airline passengers and crew members linked to the index case.

A second suspected case was reported in Wajir County, involving a person showing viral haemorrhagic fever symptoms consistent with the Bundibugyo strain.

President William Ruto affirmed that Kenya is prepared for a potential outbreak, citing isolation centres already established and critical checkpoints at major entry points such as JKIA and the Kenya‑Uganda border.