Ministry of Health has warned Kenyans against unnecessary travel to Uganda even as the government ramps up measures to keep Ebola out of its borders.
The deadly virus is quickly spreading in the neighbouring country where it has infected 54 people and killed 25 by Sunday.
The latest victim is a Tanzanian doctor who died on Saturday in Kabarole, a city in Western Uganda.
There is no vaccine for the Sudan strain of the disease behind the latest Uganda infections.
And now, the Ministry of Health is warning Kenyans against traveling to Uganda as that may cause spread.
“We appeal to members of the public to minimise their movements in and out of the country through entry points along our western border unless it is extremely necessary,” Acting director general of health Patrick Amoth said.
Uganda declared the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in Mubende district of Central Uganda, on September 20, 2022.
Only seven deaths had been confirmed on Sunday, but Uganda’s Health ministry said there were 18 deaths, linked to confirmed cases, where burials took place before they could be tested.
The World Health Organization advised countries against imposing restrictions on travel and/or trade to Uganda based on available information for the current outbreak.
Amoth said Kenyans should not be alarmed because no case has been reported in Kenya and the suspected case from Kakamega turned negative.
“Those crossing at any of our border points should exercise maximum care as advised and guided by our health personnel at the entry points,” he said.
The WHO said the Sudan virus variant behind the current outbreak has a case fatality of 41 per cent to 100 per cent, based on past outbreaks.
The incubation period ranges from two to 21 days. People infected with the Sudan virus cannot spread the disease until they develop symptoms, and they remain infectious as long as their blood contains the virus.
Symptoms can be sudden and include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat later followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, and symptoms of impaired kidney and liver function.
WHO said diagnosis of the Sudan variant can be difficult, as early nonspecific manifestation of the disease may mimic other infectious diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis.
“Supportive care - rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids - and treatment of specific symptoms improve survival,” WHO said.
There are no licensed vaccines or therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of Sudan virus disease.
There are two vaccines against Ebola but neither works against the Sudan strain.
The first vaccine is called Ervebo and was developed by Merck, while the second vaccine was developed by Johnson & Johnson.
“Based on available evidence the ERVEBO vaccine — used in the recent responses against the Ebola virus disease outbreaks — will not provide cross-protection against the Sudan virus disease,” WHO said in a statement.
“The Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine called Zabdeno/Mvabea against Ebola has … not been tested against Sudan virus disease.”
The most deadly Ebola outbreak in Africa was between 2014 and 2016, when the Zaire variant killed more than 10,000 people in Libera, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Since then, scattered outbreaks were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than 2,000 people died of the Zaire Ebola virus between 2018 and 2020.
The WHO says there are a few major differences between the Zaire and Sudan strains, mainly that Zaire is deadlier and more transmissible than Sudan variant, first reported in Sudan in 1970s.
Sudan’s mortality rates range from 41 to 100 per cent, while Zaire’s mortality rate between 60 and 100 per cent.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
