Kenyan health authorities are on high alert following the outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease in neighbouring Uganda. While there is no cause for alarm as yet, the intensified screening in border counties is laudable as every effort will be needed to prevent it from entering Kenya.

Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has indeed urged residents to be on the lookout and assured them that his county administration is alert.

While the country has never witnessed an outbreak of the disease, it is endemic in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, which shares a porous border with Uganda, thus bringing the threat closer home. Nairobi is also a major international transit point, which means the proactive measures being taken to curb any spread into the country need to be widened beyond the border counties.