NAIROBI, Kenya- The Government has flagged off medical supplies, personal protective equipment and laboratory equipment to support Kenya’s response to Ebola, as the country confirms a second case of the disease.
The consignments include supplies from Amref Health Africa and FHI 360’s STRIDES programme, supported by the United States Government, as well as a separate consignment from UNICEF.
The equipment is intended to support frontline health workers and response teams working to detect and manage possible cases.
Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards Mary Muthoni thanked the US Government and its implementing partners for supporting Kenya’s response.
The Ministry of Health is working with partners and county governments to distribute essential supplies to health facilities and teams that need them.
The flag-off comes on the same day the Ministry confirmed Kenya’s second case of Bundibugyo virus disease.
The patient, a 39-year-old close relative of the first confirmed case, was already in quarantine when he developed symptoms.
Health authorities said there was no evidence of wider community transmission and that contact tracing was continuing.
Kenya’s first case was an imported infection involving a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He died in Nairobi on October 5, and the Ministry confirmed the case the following day.
The patient had travelled from the DRC through Uganda before arriving in Nairobi.
The Bundibugyo strain is rare, and there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for it, Reuters reported.
Protecting health workers, identifying cases quickly and tracing contacts are therefore central to limiting further transmission.
International partners have also provided other support.
The World Health Organization said it handed over medical supplies worth about US$70,000 to help protect health workers and speed up testing.
The shipment included protective clothing, Ebola testing kits, infrared thermometers and equipment for safely transporting samples.
WHO said Kenya had screened more than 665,000 travellers and designated five laboratories to test for the disease.
The Ministry has urged the public to rely on official updates as health teams continue surveillance, contact tracing and preparedness work.
The new supplies are expected to reinforce those efforts as authorities monitor the two linked cases and assess people who may have been exposed.
