Africa CDC sends team to Kenya after first Ebola case; Kaseya to visit

Africa CDC said on 6 October that a high-level team is flying to Kenya after the country confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola, and that its Director General, Jean Kaseya, will travel to Kenya in the coming days.

In a statement issued from Addis Ababa on 6 October, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Kaseya had spoken to Kenyan authorities and expressed his condolences. "A high level and multidisciplinary Africa CDC team is flying to Kenya to provide appropriate support," the statement said. Kaseya will assess what the response needs during his visit, it said.

The agency also said that more than 70% of new Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are still being detected in the community among people who had not previously been identified, listed and followed as contacts. "To interrupt this outbreak, we must know where every contact is, follow them, and rapidly identify anyone who develops symptoms before they transmit the virus to their family, community or across borders," Kaseya said in the statement.

The statement said Africa CDC, with the engagement of the US government and other partners, has helped mobilise about US$2.9 billion to support the response. "Every dollar mobilised for this outbreak must be traceable to the results it produces on the ground," Kaseya said in the statement.

The patient, a Kenyan citizen, had been living in the DRC and fell ill there, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa said on 6 October. WHO said the patient was treated at several health facilities in the DRC, travelled by road via Beni to Kampala in Uganda on 2 October, and flew to Nairobi, arriving on 3 October.

The patient died on the night of 5 October despite supportive care and was buried on 6 October under Ebola safe-burial protocols, according to WHO.

Samples tested positive for Bundibugyo virus at two laboratories, the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), WHO said.

Both Africa CDC and WHO put the number of contacts listed in Kenya at 28, including family members and health workers. Kenyan authorities are also tracing the passengers and crew members who travelled with the patient.

WHO said it is working closely with the Kenyan government, which is strengthening response coordination and case investigation, monitoring contacts and screening at high-risk points of entry. WHO has delivered about 1,000 Ebola tests and 1,000 personal protective equipment kits to high-risk counties, it said.

According to WHO, as of 6 October Kenya had screened more than 652,000 travellers entering the country, tested 267 suspected samples and trained around 5,000 health workers. It put Kenya's Ebola preparedness score at 66% in May and 82% in July.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale confirmed the case and said the patient had flown into the country from Kampala, The Standard reported on 6 October.