Duale Clears the Air on Kenya Ebola Outbreak as More Contacts Are Traced
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has come out to clarify that Kenya isn’t in the midst of an Ebola outbreak , despite confirming its very first case of Bundibugyo virus disease – BDBV for short.
Duale said the patient had gotten infected in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before going on to travel through Uganda and eventually landing in Nairobi.
In a chat with NTV the other day, the Health CS described the case as an imported infection rather than a homegrown one & told us that health officials have put in place all sorts of measures to stop the disease from spreading further.
The government confirmed on Tuesday that Kenya had suffered its very first case – and fatality – from Bundibugyo virus disease, which as you might expect had led to a bit of a step up in surveillance and contact tracing efforts.
Duale Says Kenya Has No Ebola Outbreak
Duale says he wanted to reassure Kenyans that the one confirmed case shouldn’t be taken as evidence of an Ebola outbreak in the country.
From what he said, the patient had actually contracted the illness while out of Kenya before coming back in.
The government has since stepped up contact tracing and quarantine measures as officials try to establish who exactly the patient had contact with while he was here.
The distinction is quite important because an imported case doesn’t necessarily mean the disease is spreading within the country.
Patient Travelled From DRC Through Uganda to Kenya
Duale gave us a rundown of the patient’s movements before he arrived in Nairobi.
Apparently, the patient was first infected in Eburu in the north west of DRC where he’d gone to get some medical help.
From there, he made his way to Beni before hopping on a bus to Kinshasa.
He then got a flight to Kampala on October 1.
Duale told us that the patient then went out and bought a ticket to Kenya on October 2 & travelled to Nairobi.
Patient Did Not Declare Illness While Travelling
According to the Health CS, the patient didn’t declare the illness when he was buying a ticket to travel from the DRC or from Uganda.
“When you’re buying a ticket, you’re supposed to declare if you’re unwell. This bloke never declared – not when he was boarding the plane in Congo, and not when he was coming to Kenya” Duale said. “He was actually taking a load of medication while he was travelling & for whatever reason-he just didn’t get checked.”
As a result, the patient’s condition just sort of flew under the radar, as far as anyone at the airport was concerned.
The revelation has now put a bit more focus on contact tracing efforts to track down people who may have crossed paths with the patient when he was in the country.
What Happened After the Patient Arrived at JKIA?
After the patient arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), he was picked up by a relative and a friend in a Toyota Fielder.
The two of them collected him in the car with the reg KDG 699Z before taking him off to Nairobi Hospital.
The patient was initially isolated in the emergency room at the hospital.
Then he was moved to the East Wing isolation facility – a place the CS said has been used before during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Apparently the facility has over 145 beds.
Symptoms Raised Concerns Over Viral Haemorrhagic Fever
Medical checks have apparently confirmed that the patient had quite a few pretty serious symptoms going on.
This included a fever, nigh on exhausting fatigue, muscle pain, swallowing couldn’t have been a enjoyable experience for them, a rough throat and some nasty bleeding under the skin where an injection had been given.
Doctors ended up thinking a viral haemorrhagic fever might be to blame.
A sample was taken & sent off for analysis, and the results were positive for Ebola, by the sound of things, according to Duale.
Kenya Confirms First Bundibugyo Virus Disease Case and Death
Duale said the poor guy had been unwell for a good month before things took a turn for the worse.
“the guy had been down sick for a month, and his organs were on the point of failing and – sadly unfortunately – despite the doctors giving him the best treatment possible he passed away on Monday,” Duale said.
Following that – the government stepped in to confirm it was indeed Kenyas first confirmed case and death from Bundibugyo virus disease.
Bundibugyo virus disease is basically just a different type of Ebola virus disease that is caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The confirmation led the health bosses to say that they’re going to be keeping a close eye out while also making the point that the case we’re currently dealing with was brought into the country.
Kenya Expands Contact Tracing and Quarantine
The health teams have now widened out their contact-tracing operation, trying to find out who else may have had any contact with the patient.
Duale said they’ve got 11 of his family members and 23 health workers under quarantine currently.
Four Jambojet crew who were dealing with the poor guy were also thrown under quarantine as part of the response
The authorities are also putting out the word to track down any other people who may have had contact with the patient, including folks from the Jambojet cleaners and immigration officers who were dealing with his entry into the country.
The main aim with this is to catch anyone who might have been exposed early, & hopefully prevent the bug from spreading any further.
Government Urges Kenyans to Remain Vigilant
Although the government is maintaining that we’re largely dealing with an import case – rather than a full-blown outbreak in Kenya- they are intensifying their surveillance.
Health officials are still working on tracking down contacts, quarantine and monitoring of anyone who might have been exposed.
The government meanwhile is urging the public to stay on the ball and stick to verified information as health officials work to get the situation under control.
At the moment though, their main priority is to identify anyone else that might have been exposed & make sure they’re being monitored ASAP.
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Duale Clears the Air on Kenya Ebola Outbreak as More Contacts Are Traced
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