By Samwel Doe Ouma @samweldoe
The ministry of health has issued an alert to all counties across the country following reported Ebola outbreak in neighboring Uganda.
According to health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, the move follows an alert forwarded by the Ugandan government to Kenya in line with East African Community Health protocols over the outbreak that was detected in Ngabano village of Madudu Sub County in Central Uganda.
Uganda has now reported 34 Ebola cases with 16 confirmed, 18 probable, and 21 deaths 4 confirmed, 17 probables.
“Health officials in Uganda are currently conducting contact tracing to identify any close contacts of the deceased,” added Kagwe.
As part of the interventions put in place by the Kenyan government, all county administrations have been urged to remain vigilant and enhance surveillance especially at the border, activate rapid response teams to support identification of any suspected cases and make prompt reporting, screen at risk populations including travelers, truck drivers, bush meat handlers and healthcare workers as well as sensitize the community to identify suspected cases.
They have also been urged to sensitize healthcare workers on infection, prevention and control measures, case management and sample management and to mobilize relevant stakeholders to initiate prevention, preparedness and response measures.
While urging for caution, the ministry of health has advised members of the public to take heightened precautions while visiting Uganda as well as Democratic Republic of Congo. The general public is also advised to watch out for any person presenting with acute onset of fever especially if in contact with persons with history of travel from Uganda and/or Democratic Republic of Congo within the previous three weeks. Other signs to look out for are vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pains, headache, sore throat, measles like rash, red eyes as well as bleeding from body openings.
For such cases, the general public is advised to notify the nearest health facility or administrative officers like assistant chiefs or call hotline numbers 0729 47 14 14 or 0732 35 35 35 immediately.
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe and often fatal illness in humans caused by Ebola virus. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. Based on previous outbreaks, up to 67 percent of infected cases die.
