KENYA – The Ministry of Health in Kenya has entered into a strategic partnership deal with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to jointly train about 1,400 health workers on how they can prepare for an Ebola outbreak.
The government ministry said in a press release that the Ebola response activities is part of ongoing measures to mitigate against a possible importation of the deadly Ebola Virus disease into the country as Uganda struggles to contain the current outbreak.
“The training, that kicked off this week, has seen 75 health workers drawn from the national level and Nairobi County receive essential information and techniques required to deal with the disease,” said the Ministry of Health.
The department further said that the health workers received training on preparedness and response with the exercise set to be cascaded to the county and sub county levels in the 20 counties most at risk of EVD importation.
The training exercise follows concerns by Ugandan health authorities about a rise in confirmed Ebola cases to 109 with 30 fatalities as well as an alert issued by the Kenyan ministry to all counties across the country.
“Ebola virus disease is a severe and often fatal illness in humans caused by the Ebola virus. The virus is normally found in animals but spread from animals to human beings and occurs when there is interaction between the infected animals and healthy humans,” the statement said.
Additionally, a recent alert forwarded by the Ugandan government to Kenya is in line with East African Community Health protocols over the outbreak of the disease that was detected in Ngabano village of Madudu Sub County in Central Uganda.
The Ministry of Health further cautioned that human to human transmission of Ebola occurs through contact with body fluids such as blood, sweat, urine, semen, vaginal fluids, diarrhea and vomitus from the infected person directly or indirectly through contaminated surfaces and fomites.
Subsequently, the Kenyan government has urged all county administrations to remain vigilant and enhance surveillance especially at the border.
“Screen at risk populations including travellers, truck drivers, bush meat handlers and healthcare workers as well as sensitize the community to identify suspected cases,” the ministry urged county administrations.
County governments have also been urged to activate rapid response teams to support identification of any suspected cases and make prompt reporting.
In addition, they were urged to sensitize healthcare workers on infection, prevention and control measures, case management and sample management as well as to mobilize relevant stakeholders to initiate prevention, preparedness and response measures.
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