By Bonface Mulyungi
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has dismissed reports of a suspected Ebola case in Kenya. Unverified reports had earlier indicated that a Turkish national was admitted to a Kenyan health facility after exhibiting Ebola-like symptoms.
According to Public Health and Professional Standards Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni, the Ministry responded to the matter alongside the County Department of Health.
She added that necessary tests were done and the patient was confirmed to have tested negative for Ebola virus.
“The patient was clinically assessed, appropriate infection prevention and control measures were implemented, and laboratory samples were collected and submitted for testing,” PS Muthoni noted in a statement on Wednesday.
“Based on the epidemiological investigations conducted and the laboratory findings, the reported case is not Ebola. While this investigation has ruled out Ebola Virus Disease, the Ministry remains on high alert in view of the ongoing regional public health situation.”
PS Muthoni added that heightened surveillance systems across the country continue to operate to manage any suspected threats.
She intimated that the government is working closely with county governments, health facilities, points of entry, and national and international partners to strengthen preparedness and response capacities against Ebola and other public health threats.
On Tuesday, MoH marked 25 counties as either ‘very high risk’ or ‘high risk’ and has been put under its radar.
Some of these counties include Nairobi, Mombasa, Uasin Gishu, Busia, Kisumu, Siaya, Turkana, Migori, among others.
According to the Ministry, 13,548 travellers have been screened in the country’s points of entry in the last 24 hours, while cumulatively, about 67,000 travellers have been screened.
The return of the Ebola virus was reported on May 15 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and has claimed 48 lives so far out of 321 confirmed cases.
The Ministry of Health in Uganda has also reported fifteen cases and one fatality.
