The Ministry of Health has issued an alert on the reported outbreak of Ebola in Uganda. The patient zero, a 24-year-old male who died on 19th September 2022, had been treated for other symptoms before developing Ebola like symptoms and signs, sadly he passed on.
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% of infected people die.
The alert, issued across the East African region by Uganda is in accordance with East African Community Health protocols. “Health officials in Uganda are currently conducting contact tracing to identify any close contacts of the deceased. Six suspicious prior deaths are currently under investigations,” Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe stated.
Uganda and Kenya share high human traffic in their borders due to pursuit of different socioeconomic activities by the citizens. This puts Kenya at high risk of disease importation. With the ministry urging Kenyans to be more vigilant and report any suspected cases.
The Kenyan government has put in place interventions; “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 travellers, 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.”
Signs to look out for are acute fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pains, headache, sore throat, and measles like rash, red eyes as well as bleeding from body openings. If you come across someone presenting this symptoms 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.
“The Ministry of Health is committed in limiting public health threats and shall remain vigilant to ensure Kenyans are well informed and protected against any such threats including infectious diseases and that citizens continue to receive quality health services,” the CS stated.
