The Kericho County Government says test results of a female patient who was yesterday night admitted to Kericho County Referral Hospital with suspected Ebola symptoms will be out in between 12 and 24 hours.
A statement from the County Government signed by Timothy Kemei, the Public Relations Officer, confirms that the patient, who had travelled from Malaba in Western Kenya, fell ill and exhibited symptoms similar to those of Ebola patients.
Her blood samples were taken to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Nairobi and results are expected later on Monday.
"This patient has been placed in isolation and blood samples sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Nairobi for further analysis. The preliminary test results are expected to be ready within the next 12 to 24 hours," the statement read in part.
The County has, however, sought to alleviate any cause for alarm saying that there was minimal contact with the patient at the time that she was admitted and isolated.
It said: "The County Disease Surveillance Team immediately took over the matter and took all the necessary precautions to ensure that there was minimal contact between the patient and other persons at the hospital including the staff and the other hospital users."
It has also said that the symptoms could lead to a diagnosis of a different disease and the county had enough facilities to contain the situation.
The National Government recently noted through the health ministry that it was tightening security at Kenya’s border with Uganda after reports of Ebola outbreak in the neighbouring country emerged.
On Sunday, the State instructed Wilson Airport to subject travelers from Kisumu International Airport to mandatory Ebola test. Beside this, the Government had announced commencement of similar test at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
On June 11, 2019, Uganda announced that a child had been positively diagnosed with Ebola, the first cross-border case in the since the outbreak began. A boy and his grandmother succumbed to the disease prompting Uganda to put measures of combating its spread.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared its tenth outbreak of Ebola in 40 years on August 1, 2018.
The number of cases has surpassed 1,000 making, it by far the country's largest-ever Ebola outbreak. It is also the second-biggest Ebola epidemic ever recorded, behind the West Africa outbreak of 2014-2016.
