Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has confirmed that all 122 contacts linked to Kenya’s first imported Ebola case have been identified and verified, as the government steps up efforts to contain the disease.
In a statement issued on Sunday, October 11, Duale said 108 contacts, representing 88.5 per cent, were in quarantine and undergoing daily monitoring.
“All 122 contacts of the case have been listed and verified. 108 (88.5%) are in quarantine and being monitored daily and none have developed any symptoms thus far,” Duale stated.
The update follows earlier reports that 10 high-risk contacts had been quarantined, while health officials were still searching for 57 others linked to the deceased patient.
Red Cross Society workers wearing personal protective equipment gathered after handling the coffin of a man who died of Ebola.
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CNBC Africa
The latest figures show that all 122 contacts have now been accounted for, although the Ministry did not provide an updated breakdown explaining the earlier figures.
Duale stated none of the 108 people under quarantine had developed symptoms, while contact tracing continued with support from international partners to monitor potential exposure.
Kenya confirmed its first imported Ebola case on October 6, involving a Kenyan who had traveled from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through Uganda before dying on October 5.
The patient was buried on October 6, with the process conducted in accordance with public health protocols, as authorities intensified efforts to prevent further infections.
Since then, the Ministry reported that 293 samples collected from 289 alerts had been tested, with only the confirmed case returning a positive result as of October 11.
Meanwhile, health officials have screened 667,675 travelers at 26 points of entry, including 2,345 people during the 24 hours preceding the latest update.
Five designated laboratories, including mobile facilities at the Lwakhaha and Busia border points, are testing samples, with confirmed results available within six to 12 hours.
The government has also made 241 isolation beds available across five hospitals in Nairobi, Eldoret, and Mombasa, including 50 intensive care beds at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, and an additional 4,197 healthcare workers have received training on Ebola management.
This also comes at a time when Kenya has proposed establishing the Kenya Center for Disease Control and Prevention to coordinate disease prevention, monitoring, and management.
At the same time, the government is currently mobilizing over Ksh70 billion in support from development partners to help with Ebola and climate change response efforts.
An image of World Bank offices.
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