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Ministry of Health sets action plan over Ebola risk

The Ministry of Health has prepared a contingency plan that will guide health institutions if the dreaded Ebola hits the country.

The action plan is meant to serve as a guide for preparedness and response after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Ebola epidemic ravaging West Africa an international health emergency, with Kenya cited as a high-risk country.

According to the plan, a reference and response information centre will be set up. It will provide accurate information for health workers and the community, provide guidance on key actions to be taken during different phases of the outbreak, prepare clinicians for appropriate action and identify and mobilise resources for response.

As part of the plan, the Ministry of Health has constituted a task force that will evaluate the evolving risk and advise the Government on an appropriate response.

The task force has members from the Ministry of Health, the Kenya Police Service, Kenya Airports Authority, Kenya Medical Research Institute and  international health bodies operating in the country such as the United Nations Children’s Fund, WHO, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention among others.

 SUSPECTED CASES

The implementation of the contingency plan will involve training healthcare workers in handling suspected Ebola cases.

A public awareness campaign will also be launched to sensitise the public on the threat.

Counties will also be involved in implementing the contingency plan.

The action plan requires surveillance to be heightened at border points, health facilities and within the community.

According to the plan, signs that could trigger an alert include acute fever and one or more of the following symptoms: vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, headache, sore throat, measles-like rash, red eyes and bleeding from body openings.

Other issues to be considered include history of travel to West Africa or contact with somebody who has been in or visited West Africa within the last three weeks.

A suspected case will involve isolation of the patient, setting up of isolation units, limiting the number of medical and support personnel visiting or seeing the patient and creating adjacent rooms for medical personnel to change protective clothing.

The contingency plan comes in the wake of Kenya banning flights to and from West African countries affected or at risk of Ebola.

Other risk factors include contact with people who have been to Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, and health workers identified to assist in response activities in West Africa.

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