NAIROBI, Kenya- The Ministry of Health will begin distributing laboratory equipment and protective gear to health facilities designated to handle possible Ebola cases, as the government steps up preparedness following the country’s first confirmed case.
Principal Secretary for Public Health Mary Muthoni said Friday that Kenya had received support worth Sh171 million from the government and development partners.
The supplies will initially go to facilities in areas considered at higher risk, she said, urging more partners to contribute to the response.
“We want to ensure that the disease does not go beyond the reported imported case,” Muthoni said during an Ebola Taskforce meeting in Nairobi.
The meeting brought together government departments involved in the response. Muthoni and Principal Secretary for Medical Services Dr Ouma Oluga said the ministry was coordinating national and county governments, health facilities and private partners.
Oluga assured health workers that the government would support and protect staff on the front line.
He said their safety was central to the response as they worked to protect the public.
Government spokesperson Charles Owino urged politicians to avoid spreading unverified claims about the disease.
He warned that misleading statements could undermine public confidence and affect tourism and investment.
Owino said the way an epidemic is communicated can reverse gains made in the country’s response.
He called for public discussion to rely on verified information from health authorities.
Muthoni said contact tracing was continuing, adding that officials hoped to locate all contacts linked to the first patient within 48 hours and take the necessary action.
Kenya confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease on October 6.
The patient, a Kenyan citizen who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for seven years, travelled by road to Kampala before boarding a flight to Nairobi.
He was admitted to hospital, where tests confirmed Ebola, and later died.
The Ministry of Health said the case was imported and that Kenya was not experiencing a wider outbreak.
By October 8, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said 66 people believed to have had contact with the patient had been accounted for and placed under quarantine.
Authorities were also tracing passengers and crew who may have been exposed during the journey.
The government has said it is strengthening surveillance, testing and isolation capacity.
Before the case was confirmed, health authorities had screened more than 652,000 travellers and tested 267 samples across five laboratories, according to the ministry.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person, or with contaminated objects.
Health officials have urged the public to follow official guidance, practise hand hygiene and seek care at a recognised facility if unwell.
