No Bundibugyo Case Confirmed in South Sudan as Health Ministry Raises Alert
South Sudan's Health Ministry says the country has no confirmed case of Bundibugyo virus disease, but has placed its health system on its highest state of alert after Kenya detected an imported case linked to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Caretaker Health Minister Dak Duop Bichiok said on 8 October that authorities were intensifying surveillance and screening at border points and transport hubs, working with the National Public Health Institute, WHO and Africa CDC. The ministry asks people with suspected symptoms, including fever, vomiting, diarrhoea or unusual bleeding, to seek health advice and report concerns through the toll-free national hotline 6666.
WHO says the Kenyan patient became ill in the DRC, travelled by road through Uganda on 2 October and arrived in Nairobi by air on 3 October. The patient died on 5 October. There is no reported passage through South Sudan. Kenya initially listed 28 close contacts and was tracing passengers and crew; its later update reported 57 contacts linked to the case. These figures reflect different reporting times, not two separate outbreaks.
WHO has reported transmission in Dungu health zone in the DRC's Haut-Uélé province, which borders South Sudan. Its weekly report, with data through 4 October, recorded 8,603 confirmed cases and 4,148 deaths across the DRC. The figures are dated and should not be presented as today's running total.
Analysis: Alert status is a call to prepare, not evidence of domestic transmission. Authorities should publish the number and location of functioning screening points, testing turnaround times, isolation capacity and protective equipment available to frontline workers. The virus spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated materials; ordinary casual proximity is not the route described by WHO. Anyone worried about exposure should contact a health facility or 6666 for instructions rather than handling a sick person's bodily fluids or remains. WHO advises against blanket travel and trade restrictions based on current information.
Sources: South Sudan minister's briefing reported by Eye Radio; WHO on Kenya's imported case; Kenya Health Ministry's later contact update; WHO weekly DRC situation report; WHO transmission and travel guidance.