The US Embassy in Kenya announced the change on Tuesday, citing health concerns alongside risks associated with crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest and road safety.
“The level was changed from Level 2 to Level 3 due to health risks,” the embassy said in a statement.
The warning followed the confirmation of Kenya’s first-ever Ebola case involving a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a major outbreak has killed thousands of people.
The patient reportedly travelled to Kenya by road and air through Uganda in early October before d+ying in Nairobi on October 5.
Seven additional cases have since been reported, mostly involving people who had close contact with the first patient. Those affected include his relatives, healthcare workers who treated him and a member of the medical support staff.
Kenya’s Ministry of Health said the other patients had been placed in quarantine and were in stable condition.
Last week, health authorities reported identifying 130 contacts linked to the outbreak, with 128 traced and placed in quarantine.
Meanwhile, the Ebola outbreak in the DRC has recorded more than 9,000 cases and 4,381 deaths, according to Congolese health authorities.
The US advisory urges American citizens to reconsider travel to Kenya, citing the combined health and security risks.
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