Busia health officials on high alert for Ebola at border points

A Liberian woman holds up a pamphlet with guidance on how to prevent the Ebola virus from spreading in the city of Monrovia, Liberia, last week. [Photo: AP]

BUNGOMA COUNTY: Health officials in Bungoma and Busia counties have put measures in place to contain spreading of the Ebola virus from West Africa.

Bungoma County Executive (CEC) Member in charge of Health and Sanitation, Grace Khayota, has allayed fears of the virus spreading undetected.

Speaking to journalists in Bungoma, Ms Khayota said stakeholders in the health sector in the region were not taking chances, considering that the county was on the border of Kenya and Uganda.

“Among the interventions and special measures we have put in place is setting up an isolation ward at the Bungoma County Referral Hospital and another at Lwakhakha Dispensary that is on the border of Kenya and Uganda,” she said.

“We have the special measures just in case anyone with the highly contagious virus enters the country. We do not want to be caught unawares,” she added.

Khayota said they expect special kits from Nairobi this week that will be worn by health practitioners in the two facilities in case the virus is reported in the region.

The Bungoma CEC's reassurance come days after the World Health Organisation (WHO) certified Kenya as a high-risk country.

Screening passengers

Public health officials on the Malaba border are also on high alert.

The health officials were screening passengers entering the country by road at the Malaba border post before being allowed to proceed with their journey.

A spot check by The Standard showed that passengers entering the country through the border point were being subjected to scrutiny.

A public health official who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity said thorough screening was being conducted on passengers at the border for Ebola symptoms.

Warning poster

He said passengers going to Immigration for clearance were first being referred to the public health office for screening.

So far, no cases of Ebola have been detected at the Malaba border point, which handles an average of 1,500 passengers a day transiting from regional countries.

A warning poster has been put up in the Customs yard advising all passengers to pass through the Public Health office before proceeding into the country.

Ebola has killed over 1,000 people since March in the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria.

Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia has been on record defending the country’s preparedness to tackle the virus.

Macharia last week said all entry points, including the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, were properly manned and public health officials could identify anyone with the virus and isolate them to prevent an outbreak.