Africa CDC team to visit Kenya after first Ebola case, death

The Director-General of Africa CDC Dr. Jean Kaseya. [AFP]

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has announced that a high level and multidisciplinary team will fly to Kenya to provide appropriate support.

This is after Kenya reported its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola Virus Disease and the subsequent death of the patient.

Africa CDC Director General Dr Jean Kaseya said that he had spoken with Kenyan authorities where he expressed his condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased and the Kenyan government.

“I thank the Kenyan authorities for the rapid measures already put in place and reiterate Africa CDC’s full support,” said Dr Kaseya.

“I will personally travel to Kenya in the coming days to assess, together with the national authorities, the needs of the response and any additional support required.”

The confirmation of the Ebola case was made by Health CS Aden Duale who said that the patient flew into the country from Kampala, Uganda.

According to the CS the patient had been living in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the last seven years and he had travelled form the country to Uganda by road before boarding a Nairobi-bound Jambo Jet flight.

Kaseya said that Africa CDC commends the rapid identification, isolation and testing of the patient, who had travelled by road from DRC to Uganda, spent a night there before flying to Kenya.

So far,  Kenyan authorities said that they had identified 28 contacts, including family members and health workers, and are tracing a further 23 passengers and crew members from the flight.

The center noted that Kenya was maintaining a high level of vigilance since the beginning of the outbreak.

Duale urged the public to stay calm and rely on official information from the ministry and called on health workers to reinforce infection prevention and control measures.

According to Africa CDC, Dr Kaseya also spoke with Ugandan authorities and he was encouraged by the immediate action taken to identify and isolate all contacts linked to this case.

He added that the confirmation of the Ebola case and death underscores the importance of sustained preparedness across the region, including stronger surveillance and cross-border information sharing.

Others are laboratory readiness, rapid response capacity, and infection prevention and control.

Kaseya said that Africa CDC was working with Member States and partners to support coordinated preparedness and response, while strengthening support to countries affected by or at risk from the outbreak.

He said that the case also highlights the continued regional risk linked to transmission in DRC and the centre recognises the efforts by the DRC government to contain the outbreak.

More than 70% of new cases are still being detected in the community among people who had not previously been identified, listed and followed as contacts. This indicates that transmission chains continue to escape the response system.

Africa CDC called on the DRC government to accelerate implementation of the village- and community-centred approach which including active case finding, systematic identification of contacts, daily follow-up and stronger community engagement.

“To interrupt this outbreak, we must know where every contact is, follow them, and rapidly identify anyone who develops symptoms before they transmit the virus to their family, community or across borders,” said Dr Kaseya.

“Our response must be African-led, united, transparent and centred on communities. We will only control this outbreak when the final chain of transmission has been interrupted.”

So far, Sh376 billion had been raised by partners and the USA to support Ebola response in DRC with Africa CDC calling for greater transparency on resources pledged, disbursed, received and used.

“Every dollar mobilised for this outbreak must be traceable to the results it produces on the ground. Transparency is essential to protect the confidence of communities, governments and partners.”