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Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case on Tuesday after a Kenyan citizen who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo died in Nairobi, Reuters reported.
Kenya is the third country to record a case linked to the Ebola epidemic in eastern Congo, the second largest on record. Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths earlier in the year but was declared Ebola-free in August.
The Kenyan patient had been ill for about a month before travelling by road from Congo to Uganda's capital, Kampala, and then flying to Nairobi on Saturday, Health Minister Aden Duale told a news conference.
After arriving at Nairobi's international airport, he passed through health screening and was later taken by a relative to Nairobi Hospital. He was admitted with fever, chills and bleeding beneath the skin and was quickly placed in isolation, Duale said.
He died late on Monday.
Health ministry Director General Patrick Amoth said the patient may have passed through airport screening because medication had masked his symptoms.
Duale said Kenya was well-prepared to respond to Ebola cases.
"We have continued to maintain, as a country, a high level of alert for Ebola since the outbreak began in May," he said.
The outbreak in Congo was declared in mid-May but may have started months earlier. It has infected more than 8,000 people and caused more than 4,000 deaths despite efforts to contain it.
The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no proven vaccine or treatment.