Kenya traces all 135 Ebola contacts
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Citizen Digital
Aden Bare DualeKenya has found the 135 people who came into contact with its first Ebola patient, Health Secretary Aden Duale announced. Of them, 45 healthcare workers are in quarantine, and one person who travelled to Mogadishu has been located, according to his appearance before a National Assembly committee.
Kenya has traced all 135 people who came into contact with its first Ebola patient, Secretary of State for Health Aden Duale said on Tuesday 3 November before the National Assembly's Committee on Delegated Legislation. He said contact tracing was 100% complete.
Those identified include passengers and crew members who travelled with the patient, as well as airport employees, immigration and customs officers, healthcare workers and family members. Among them, 45 healthcare professionals have been placed in quarantine. The authorities also located a person who had travelled with the patient before travelling to Mogadishu, Somalia, Aden Duale said.
Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its concerns to Saudi authorities, which imposed travel restrictions after the outbreak emerged. Aden Duale said the World Health Organization, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the Kenyan authorities had approached Riyadh, which is reviewing its travel advisory.
Kenya confirmed its first imported case of Ebola from Bundibugyo on 6 October. The government has since said it is containing the outbreak and disputes the Saudi restrictions, which Aden Duale considers incompatible with international public-health recommendations.
