Seven American Aid Workers Are Quarantined in Kenya as DRC Ebola Spreads into Ituri's Most Remote Zones

What the report says

Medical Daily reported that seven American aid workers with Samaritan’s Purse were placed under a 21-day quarantine in Kenya after possible exposure to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola while deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The outlet said Franklin Graham, the organization’s president, confirmed on July 18, 2026, that none of the workers had shown symptoms. They are being held at a U.S.-run site at Laikipia Air Base in central Kenya.

According to the report, the quarantine is precautionary and comes as the United States has introduced rules requiring people returning from DRC to complete three weeks of quarantine outside the country before entering the U.S. Medical Daily said the facility in Kenya is controversial because its construction continued despite a Kenyan High Court order that had temporarily stopped it; the report also cited claims from Kenyan activists that housing the workers there violated the order.

The quarantine is tied to a wider Ebola response in eastern DRC, where Samaritan’s Purse operates treatment centers in Ituri Province. Medical Daily, citing ECDC data through July 18, reported 2,344 confirmed cases and 930 deaths overall, with Ituri the main center of the outbreak and cases also reported in North Kivu. Uganda, which had cases linked to travel from DRC, had not reported a new confirmed case since June 21, according to the article.

The development matters because it shows how outbreak control is affecting humanitarian operations, travel policy and regional politics. Medical Daily noted that the evidence does not show whether any of the quarantined workers will later test positive, or whether the new quarantine requirement will deter future deployments.