Kenya has confirmed eight cases of Ebola virus disease and is seeking stronger support to strengthen contact tracing, testing and quarantine as health authorities intensify efforts to contain the outbreak....
Kenya has confirmed eight cases of Ebola virus disease and is seeking stronger support to strengthen contact tracing, testing and quarantine as health authorities intensify efforts to contain the outbreak.
The Ministry of Health said seven of the confirmed cases had close contact with the initial patient, who imported the infection after travelling from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through Uganda.
“We have eight confirmed Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases. One, of course, is the imported case, the index case. And then seven of them had close contact with this particular individual,” medical epidemiologist at Kenya’s Ministry of Health, Dr Daniel Langat, said.
Of 404 samples tested, eight returned positive results while 396 tested negative. Results for another 39 contacts were still pending.
Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Public Health, Mary Muthoni Muriuki, said the government’s immediate priorities included identifying and isolating cases, tracing contacts and protecting healthcare workers.
“Our priorities are clear. They are to detect and quickly isolate cases, to trace every contact, to protect our healthcare workers, and to keep communities informed at all times,” she said.
Authorities have identified 130 contacts linked to the outbreak, with 128 traced and placed in quarantine.
Kenya’s first Ebola patient died at a Nairobi hospital on October 5, after travelling from the DRC through Uganda. The infection was officially confirmed on October 6.
Meanwhile, civil society representatives have warned that inconsistent communication could undermine public confidence in the response.
Dr Margaret Lubaale, Chief Executive Officer of the Health NGOs Network (HENNET), said gaps in communication could leave the public believing that authorities had withheld important information.
“Every time new information is given, people think that it was hidden and has just been unleashed. And that is really something that speaks to our trust deficit, unfortunately,” she said.
The concerns come as the DRC continues to battle an outbreak that has spread to eight provinces, with more than 9,400 cases and 4,500 deaths reported since May, according to the figures provided.
Kenyan health authorities are seeking stronger support to sustain surveillance, testing and isolation measures while ensuring that communities receive timely and accurate information about the outbreak.