Five suspected cases of Ebola have been recorded at various Nairobi Hospitals and the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, even as the Government moved swiftly to re-assure Kenyans of their safety from the highly contagious virus.
The Director of Medical Services Nicholas Muraguri said three of those tested were in transit while one was visiting.
The cases involved a Liberian, two Nigerians, a Zimbabwean and a Kenyan health worker, said Dr. Muraguri.
The Liberian national was on transit to India. One of the Nigerian has been visiting since August 8, while the second reported to an AAR facility with suspicious symptoms. The fourth was a Zimbabwean en-route to Sierra Leone.
Dr. Muraguri said as soon as they received the alerts, laboratory samples were taken, with all the four visitors testing negative. Three of the patients have already left the country while one was due to leave on Sunday (today).
“These patients presented symptoms such as fever, headaches, muscular pains and chills, and this prompted their isolation and further investigation, just to make sure they were not infected with Ebola,” said Dr. Muraguri.
“The fifth case was immediately ruled out because her symptoms were not consisted with what we were on the lookout for. It was just a health worker who was worried,” said he said.
The Ebola outbreak started in March and has already claimed 1,145 lives, with victims from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Yesterday, the Government assured Kenyans that they were well prepared to handle any Ebola cases that would occur.
“We have put in place a robust contingency plan to stop Ebola. We have trained doctors who can tackle the disease in case of confirmation,” said Cabinet Secretary for Health James Macharia.
Ebola is not airborne, but spread through contact with the body fluids of an infected person.
