Kenya: US Raises Travel Advisory to Level 3 as Ebola Cases Reach Eight

October 20, 2026 — The US State Department raised Kenya’s travel advisory from Level 2 to Level 3 (Reconsider Travel) on Monday, October 19, citing health risks. Kenya now has eight confirmed cases of Bundibugyo Ebola, all linked to one imported case in Nairobi.

What changed

Advisory: Kenya moved from Level 2 (Exercise Increased Caution) to Level 3 (Reconsider Travel). The State Department’s summary of changes says the level rose “due to health risks.” The advisory now lists health, crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest and traffic safety as reasons.
Why health: The advisory points to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, which the World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency of international concern.
Ordered departure: The advisory does not mention any ordered or authorized departure of US embassy staff.

Level 4 (Do Not Travel) areas

Nairobi’s Eastleigh and Kibera neighborhoods (crime and kidnapping)
Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Lamu and Tana River counties, except Tsavo National Park (kidnapping and terrorism)
Kilifi County north of highway C103, and the coast north of Malindi (kidnapping and terrorism)
West Pokot County and western Turkana County (crime)
Marsabit and Turkana counties within 50 km of the Ethiopian border (unrest)

The Ebola situation in Kenya

Cases: Kenya has confirmed eight cases and one death, according to ABC News and the CDC (CDC data as of October 18). The eighth case, announced Sunday, October 18, is a 49-year-old patient attendant at Nairobi Hospital who was already in quarantine.
Source: All cases trace back to the first patient. He travelled by road from the DRC to Kampala, Uganda, then flew Jambojet to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on October 3. He died on October 5.
Contacts: Officials identified 130 contacts; 128 had been traced and were in quarantine as of the weekend. New cases among them are possible until their 21-day monitoring ends.
Official view: Kenya’s Ministry of Health says there is no community spread and that the risk of wider transmission “remains low.” Travellers crossing from Uganda, including at Busia, are being screened.
No vaccine: The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or treatment, ABC News reports.

US entry rules

As of the CDC’s October 19 update, Kenya is not named in US Ebola entry restrictions. Those rules still apply to recent travel in the DRC (no boarding of US-bound flights within 21 days) and to US citizens arriving from Uganda or South Sudan, who must enter through designated airports for enhanced screening. Canada’s advice for Kenya is unchanged at exercise a high degree of caution (last updated October 15).

What it means for airline travelers

Plan your routing carefully. A stop in Uganda or the DRC on the way to or from Kenya can trigger US entry restrictions or screening. If you are flying standby through East Africa, make sure every possible backup routing avoids those countries.
Know the Level 4 areas. Safari and beach trips usually stay clear of them, but check your lodge or route against the list above. Tsavo National Park is excluded from the Tana River ban.
Health: Read the CDC’s Ebola page and the US Embassy Nairobi health alert before you go. The embassy advises watching your health for 21 days after visiting an outbreak area and calling a doctor before going in if symptoms appear. Talk to your doctor about malaria prevention, since its symptoms can look like Ebola.
Canadians: Canada’s Kenya page says that from October 5, 2026, the Kenyan eTA application includes mandatory travel health insurance for stays under 12 months. Sort out your eTA before you head to the airport. You can’t fix it at the gate.
Insurance: The embassy suggests checking that your policy covers medical evacuation. Some policies also limit cover for destinations under a Level 3 advisory.
Register: Americans can enroll in STEP. Canadians can use Registration of Canadians Abroad.