NAIROBI, Kenya- The Ministry of Health says it has traced and placed in quarantine 128 of 130 identified contacts linked to Kenya’s Ebola cases, as the country’s confirmed infections rose to seven.
Public Health and Professional Standards Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni said the ministry had stepped up surveillance beyond people already in quarantine to reduce the risk of wider transmission.
The latest contact-tracing figure of 98.5 per cent is above the 85 per cent benchmark cited by the ministry.
Two contacts were still being sought, according to the latest update.
Four of the seven cases were confirmed on Saturday, October 17.
They comprise a male relative of the first patient and three health workers who treated him in hospital.
The four had been in quarantine before developing symptoms and testing positive.
The first patient, who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda, died on October 5.
Kenya has reported one death.
The new infections followed earlier cases among the first patient’s relatives.
The ministry says there is no evidence of community transmission and that the risk to the general public remains low.
However, it has warned that more cases could be identified among people still under monitoring.
Muthoni said the ministry had urged county governments to prepare quarantine facilities as a precaution in case the disease is not contained.
Personal protective equipment has also been dispatched to higher-risk areas, including counties near points of entry, she said.
Kenya began Ebola preparedness in May, when the outbreak was declared in the DRC.
By October 15, the ministry had screened more than 685,000 travellers, while nearly 5,000 health workers had received training to identify the disease and care for patients safely.
The response includes enhanced checks at points of entry, laboratory testing, isolation and contact tracing.
The World Health Organization is supporting the government with surveillance, contact tracing, testing, patient care, infection prevention and public information.
WHO says the patients who tested positive while in quarantine were detected early, and that people exposed to the virus are monitored for 21 days.
WHO also says there is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for Bundibugyo Ebola.
Patients receive supportive care, including fluids and treatment for their symptoms; early supportive care can improve the chance of survival.
The virus spreads through direct contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person, or with objects contaminated by those fluids.
It is not transmitted through the air. The ministry has urged the public to wash hands regularly, avoid contact with suspected or confirmed cases and seek medical help if symptoms develop.
Early symptoms can include fever, tiredness, muscle or joint pain, headache and sore throat. Vomiting, diarrhoea and other serious symptoms may follow.
Anyone with symptoms or concerned about possible exposure is urged to call the Ministry of Health’s toll-free hotline on 719.
