- Viral hemorrhagic fevers are a group of diseases that affect multiple organ systems in the body
- The five days training was conducted in collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation
Image: BBC
A total of 635 Rapid Response Teams have so far been trained to handle critical situations such as outbreaks of Ebola and Marburg viruses.
They have been trained across 18 counties and are now equipped to handle such critical situations.
This is after an additional 124 subcounty RRTs were trained on Integrated Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers Rapid Response this week.
Viral hemorrhagic fevers are a group of diseases that affect multiple organ systems in the body and may be accompanied by haemorrhage or bleeding such as Ebola and Marburg viruses.
The five-day training was conducted in collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation.
It was targeting Homabay, Kericho, Kisii and Narok counties.
One of the key focus areas of the training is donning Personal Protective Equipment as critical in preventing transmission of outbreaks such as Ebola and Marburg viruses.
According to WHO, standardised donning and doffing protocols by use of full PPE reduce risk and prevent infection of healthcare workers during response.
“The training will strengthen the country’s ability to quickly and effectively detect, investigate and respond to potential disease outbreaks,” WHO said in a statement.
The training also sought to build the capacity of Subcounty Rapid Response Teams on infection prevention and control, hand hygiene and injection safety.
“This multi-county participation is an essential step towards building a collaborative and coordinated response to the potential threat of viral hemorrhagic fevers,” the ministry said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, VHF viruses can spread to people when they come in contact with infected animals or insects.
For many VHFs, person-to-person transmission can then continue, often through direct contact or in healthcare facilities without adequate infection control procedures.
“Fast and accurate diagnostics are vital during outbreaks to confirm VHF cases, leading to faster isolation of cases and ultimately shorter, less severe outbreaks,” CDC says.
It notes that outbreaks of VHFs occur sporadically and irregularly, and their occurrence can be difficult to predict.