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Science 12 Oct 2026

Kenya's short rains: what the Indian Ocean Dipole is and how it moves the rain

The Indian Ocean Dipole, a sea-temperature gap across the Indian Ocean, tends to bring heavier October–December rain to Kenya when its western side is warmer, the Kenya Meteorological Department says. A Kenya Meteorological Department official was quoted by the farming news site FarmBizAfrica on 18 September as saying the dipole was still neutral, and the World Meteorological Organization predicted on 8 October that it would peak in October.

Science 12 Oct 2026

Kenya's Ebola case: does Ervebo, a licensed Ebola vaccine, protect against Bundibugyo? WHO says it is not known

It is not known whether Ervebo, licensed only against the Zaire species of Ebola virus, protects people against the Bundibugyo virus behind Kenya's first imported case, WHO said in its outbreak notice of 28 August; the Phase Ib trial of Oxford's Bundibugyo-specific vaccine that began in Uganda on 6 October tests safety, not protection.

Science 10 Oct 2026

A spreading UTI can turn into sepsis; Kenyan study found 66% of bacteria tested were multidrug-resistant

Obstetrician and gynaecologist Prof Moses Obimbo said, as quoted by Business Daily on 10 October 2026, that not every urinary tract infection becomes sepsis, but one that spreads to the kidneys and bloodstream can. A Kenyan study published in 2023 found that 66% of the bacteria tested from patients with UTI-like symptoms were multidrug-resistant.

Science 9 Oct 2026

Does an 80% fall in Africa's wildlife mean four in five animals are gone?

On 8 October 2026, WWF's Living Planet Report put the average fall in Africa's monitored wildlife populations since 1970 at 80%. WWF says this is an average change across monitored populations from 1970 to 2022, not a count of animals or populations lost.

Science 9 Oct 2026

Why Kenyan airport fever checks can miss Ebola, and why contacts are watched for 21 days

On 6 October, Reuters reported Kenya's health ministry director-general as saying the country's first Ebola patient may have passed airport screening because medication masked his symptoms. WHO puts Ebola's incubation period at 2 to 21 days, and a 2014 analysis put 21 days at the 95th percentile.

Science 7 Oct 2026

Why the Ebola strain confirmed in Kenya has no licensed vaccine, and what is being tested

On 6 October Kenya notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of a confirmed case of Bundibugyo ebolavirus, a species with no licensed vaccine. CEPI said on 1 June that no Bundibugyo vaccine was in clinical development; by 23 July Oxford's candidate was in a Phase 1 trial, Gavi reported, and on 7 August WHO experts recommended a trial of Ervebo, the licensed vaccine for the Zaire species.