Health officials wearing Ebola protective gears. A new outbreak of Ebola in the DRC has claimed 17 lives. FILE PHOTO
Kenya is on high alert following an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The
Ministry of Health is screening all travellers at entry points
including Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport, Busia and Malaba, Cabinet
Secretary Sicily Kariuki said on Wednesday.
“In
these places, we have installed Thermal Guns to detect any person with
elevated temperatures,” said Ms Kariuki said in a written statement.
The
CS added that the ministry has established a National Health
Emergencies Council to act expeditiously to prevent any importation of
Ebola.
Seventeen people in northwest DRC have died
from Ebola, the health ministry said on Tuesday, describing the fresh
outbreak as a "public health emergency with international impact."
The
Ebola virus, which mostly affects humans and nonhuman primates
(monkeys, gorillas and chimpanzees), is transmitted to people from wild
animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human
transmission.
The average case fatality rate is around 50 per cent.
The
Health ministry said it has "taken all necessary measures to respond
promptly and effectively to this new epidemic of Ebola in the DRC's
national territory".
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