Health CS Mutahi Kagwe issues directives after Ebola outbreak in Uganda

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe has issued a statement regarding an ebola outbreak in Uganda on Tuesday, September 20, 2022.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, CS Kagwe directed county governments to be vigilant and enhance surveillance, especially at the border of Kenya and Uganda and activate rapid response teams to support the identification of suspected cases.

He also ordered the screening of at-risk populations, including travellers, truck drivers, bush meat handlers and health care workers.

County governments have been told to sensitize their communities on how to identify suspected cases, sensitize health care workers on infection, prevention and control measures, case management and sample management.

Heath CS Mutahi Kagwe at the All Saints’ Cathedral for the investiture ceremony of St. John Kenya Pulse Live Kenya

Kagwe instructed the governors to mobilize all the relevant stakeholders to initiate prevention, preparedness and response measures and the development of county EVD contingency plans.

He called on Kenyans to remain calm but take heightened precautions while visiting Uganda and DRC.

READ: Everything Kenyans need to know about Ebola outbreak in Uganda

“The general public is also advised to watch out for any person presenting with acute onset of fever and any of the following signs, especially if in contact with persons with a history of travel from Uganda and/or the Democratic Republic of Congo within the previous three weeks,” the statement read.

People infected by the virus tend to have a high fever, general body weakness, muscle and joint pains, headaches, diarrhoea, skin eruptions, organ failures as well as internal and external bleeding.

Medical professionals wearing protective gear Pulse Live Kenya

The World Health Organisation declared an Ebola outbreak in Uganda following the death of a 24-year-old man who was diagnosed with the disease on Tuesday.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said that this is the first time in more than a decade that Uganda is recording an outbreak of Sudan ebolavirus.

He also praised the country for its prompt response, promising to commit resources to help stop the disease from spreading.