How nurses, doctors and lab technicians got coronavirus

A medical officer takes samples from a Mombasa resident at the Kenya Coast National Polytechnic Centre for mentally challenged people last month. [Gideon Maundu, Standard]

On May 19, the Covid-19 diagnostic laboratory at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital was closed for a week after two technicians tested positive for the coronavirus.

The hospital suspended all testing and transferred samples to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) in Mtwapa and the National Influenza Institute in Nairobi, causing delays in diagnosis and relay of results that the hospital is just recovering from.

Protective gear

Testing resumed after one week with officials vehemently denying that the infections emanated from the laboratory that was launched in April with support from the national government and Washington State University.

According to Hazel Koitaba, the Mombasa Health CEC, the infected technicians did not contract the virus from the laboratory or out of a breach of safety regulations. She said one technician underwent a routine Covid-19 test after returning from leave and was found to be positive.

"A laboratory technician at our testing facility who was off duty resumed work but when he was tested, the results were positive. We quickly swung into action and quarantined colleagues and put him in treatment,’’ she said.

She disclosed that a second technician at the same facility also tested positive. The laboratory has since resumed operations.

These two technicians represent the growing list of front-line medical workers that have contracted the virus since March 17 when Mombasa's first case was reported. The coastal city has the second highest virus caseload after Nairobi but the highest mortality rate in Kenya -- at 39 deaths by Tuesday.

As the virus swept across Mombasa, medical authorities in April launched targeted mass testing at all public hospitals and at Mombasa Port where many infections had been reported.

By Tuesday, the number of infected medical workers in Mombasa had risen to 29 following tests on 926 hospital personnel in public and private institutions.

Most of them have recovered and there is no report of death from the virus among health workers. The last infection was reported a fortnight ago.

Although authorities have not given a break-down of infections per hospital, we established that the first infections occurred at a private medical facility when an asymptomatic patient infected doctors, nurses and several paramedics who in turn infected some family members. That was in March.

We also established that the health facilities at Mombasa Port were among the first in Mombasa to register infections among medical workers. Authorities also admit that some doctors still got infected despite wearing protective gear.

“We have tested 926 health workers out of which 29 have turned positive,” Koitaba said. “Most of these have been nurses who are the first point of call.”

Koitaba said there are also doctors and other health workers who are infected but added most of the infections were reported in private hospitals. “It is only a few weeks ago that public hospitals joined the figures,” she said.

She denied claims that many workers in public/county hospitals have been infected or exposed to the virus out of lack of protective gear.

“We have adequate supply of personal protective equipment with support from the national government,” she said, adding that initial spread, especially among nurses in March, arose from the fact there was inadequate knowledge about infected patients with symptoms.

On May 9, Khadija Shikely, the Mombasa Chief Officer in charge of Medical Services, admitted that at that time, two doctors and eight nurses had tested positive for the virus. She said the first doctor to test positive contracted the virus from a patient.

Quarantine facilities

Meanwhile, in Nyeri, all employees at the referral hospital will undergo mandatory testing after three healthcare workers tested positive.

Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga said the exercise will be conducted to single out those who turn positive as most of the cases in the county were asymptomatic.

“Out of the nine cases in Nyeri, only one patient showed symptoms. The targeted testing in the hospital will help us curb the spread of the virus,” the governor said.

Kahiga added that the county government has booked two hotels to accommodate health workers suspected to have been exposed to people who tested positive.

Out of the 1,018 beds in public hospitals, the governor said the county will identify 300 beds in preparation for a spike.

The county has a 15-bed isolation centre at Mount Kenya Hospital and is running two quarantine facilities.

[Additional reporting by Jacinta Mutura]