Stakeholders have called for urgent measures to protect healthcare workers following confirmation of the country’s first imported case of Ebola virus.
The Kenya Medical Association and the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) called on the government to strengthen preparedness measures by ensuring that health facilities have adequate personal protective equipment, isolation units remain fully operational and surveillance at ports of entry is intensified.
The association also called for greater protection and support for frontline healthcare workers who are at heightened risk of exposure while responding to suspected cases.
“We call on the Government of Kenya to ensure adequate PPE reaches all facilities without delay; that isolation units remain at full readiness; that port of entry surveillance is intensified; and that frontline healthcare workers are protected and supported,” KMA said.
The association said Kenya has the capacity to contain the outbreak if early action, community cooperation and transparent leadership are maintained.
KUCO said the case highlights the need to strengthen surveillance at health facilities, noting that the patient had passed routine port health screening before being identified at a hospital.
The union said the patient, a Kenyan who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for seven years, travelled by road to Kampala before flying into Nairobi on October 3.
He was later taken by private vehicle to a hospital where he was isolated after presenting with fever, chills, fatigue, muscle pain, painful swallowing and bleeding under the skin at injection sites.
Samples tested positive at both the National Virology Reference Laboratory and KEMRI, with the patient dying on the night of October 5.
KUCO commended the Ministry of Health for maintaining heightened surveillance since May, including screening more than 652,000 travelers, testing 267 samples and training 4,971 health workers.
However, the union said the case demonstrates that border screening alone cannot prevent Ebola from reaching communities.
“Kenya’s real early-warning system is the health worker at the first point of care, and that worker must be protected, trained and present,” KUCO said.
The union has called on the national and county governments to ensure health facilities have adequate personal protective equipment, functional isolation areas, safe waste disposal facilities and clear referral pathways.
It also wants health workers involved in Ebola screening, triage and treatment to receive risk allowances, medical cover, life and occupational insurance and guaranteed compensation for families of workers who become sick or die in the line of duty.
KUCO further demanded a clear post-exposure protocol, including immediate risk assessment, confidential testing, monitoring for 21 days and paid special leave for exposed health workers.
The union called for accelerated Ebola training, with priority given to outpatient departments, casualty, triage, laboratory and records staff, particularly in border and entry-point counties.
They said outpatient departments are critical because clinical officers are often the first point of contact for patients and early Ebola symptoms such as fever, fatigue, muscle pain and sore throat can resemble common illnesses such as malaria, typhoid and influenza.
The union said health workers in border and entry-point counties, including Busia, Bungoma and Nairobi, trained within 14 days, while training in other counties should be completed within 30 days.
The training should cover early identification, travel history screening, triage, immediate isolation, proper use of protective equipment, safe injections, sample collection, contact tracing and safe burials.
Furthermore, the union called for the resolution of ongoing industrial disputes involving clinical officers and other health workers, warning that prolonged labour disputes could weaken Kenya’s ability to respond to Ebola.
It urged counties that have not concluded return-to-work agreements with clinical officers to engage the union immediately.
The union also called for intensified public education on Ebola, urging Kenyans to seek medical attention early when they develop symptoms and to disclose travel or contact history to health workers.
It stressed that Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person or someone who has died from the disease, as well as contaminated items, and is not spread through casual contact.
KUCO urged the government to intensify communication through radio, television, social media and printed materials in English, Kiswahili and local languages, particularly in border communities in Busia and Bungoma.
It also called for the Ministry of Health toll-free 719 line to operate around the clock and be linked to rapid response teams.
The union said clinical officers will continue supporting the national response and urged Kenyans to remain calm, vigilant and united.
