•Nyeri county department of Health services has allayed fears that Ebola cases may have been reported at Karatina Hospital in Mathira.
Image: EUTYCAS MUCHIRI
Nyeri county department of Health services has allayed fears that Ebola cases may have been reported at Karatina Hospital in Mathira.
This follows reports that were circulating in the media and social media on suspected Ebola cases admitted in Karatina sub county hospital.
The a statement dated 26 June and signed by the county director of medical services Nelson Muriu states that all county hospitals have isolation rooms where cases are isolated from time to time as part of the department’s standard procedure.
“The isolation is based on clinical presentation at the time of admission, with a focus on any patients suspected of having epidemic prone diseases such as Cholera, multi-drug resistance TB, measles, meningitis, viral haemorrhagic fevers among others,” stated the statement.
A number of tests, the statement went on, are performed on the isolated patients as part of routine public health surveillance.
Some of the samples collected are packaged and transported to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) for testing to rule out diseases such as Cholera, measles, viral haemorrhagic fevers which include denges fever, chikungunya, yellow fever, Marburg, Ebola among others.
“We therefore want to report that even for the week ending 28 June 2019, and as part of routine public health surveillance, various samples were collected from isolated patients admitted across our hospitals and taken to KEMRI for testing,” he stated.
Muriu stated that all the samples tested negative for viral haemorrhagic fevers among other tests.
“We therefore want to assure the general public that there are no suspected cases of Ebola in Nyeri and our surveillance system is on high-alert for any patients presenting to our health facilities with a travel history to Ebola-endemic countries.”
The fears emerged after two people were admitted at Karatina level four Hospital exhibiting Ebola like sysmptoms.
The patients, both male, are said to have exhibited haemorrhagic fever and admitted in isolation unit.