Ruto Reveals Number of People Isolated After Contact With Kenyan Ebola Victim

President William Ruto has broken his silence on Kenya’s first confirmed imported Ebola case, saying the government has identified and isolated people who came into contact with the deceased patient.

Speaking during the the handover and dedication of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s mausoleum in Bondo, Siaya County, Ruto said authorities had identified people who travelled with the patient including all the medical personnel who attended to him at a Nairobi hospital .

“You are aware of the news that we have a citizen who came from the DRC with the dreaded Ebola condition. We have since taken steps to make sure that we secure our country. All the people that traveled with him have been identified. All the medical personnel that attended to him in Nairobi hospital have been identified,23 of them and they have been isolated,” Ruto said.

Ruto Says Ebola Contacts Have Been Isolated

The President said family members who came into contact with the patient had also been identified and isolated as part of measures to prevent possible transmission.

“All his family members that came in contact with him have been identified and they’ve been isolated,” Ruto said.

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Ruto said the government was taking steps to safeguard the country from any danger that could arise from the case.

He said the government was working with the Ministry of Health to ensure that appropriate measures were taken following the patient’s arrival from the DRC.

“We are taking steps as government to make sure that we protect the nation from any dangers that may arise from this visit by this Kenyan who was resident in DRC,” Ruto said.

The President’s remarks comes shortly after the Ministry of Health confirmed that 28 contacts, including family members and health workers who attended to the patient, have been identified.

It also noted that it was tracing 23 passengers and four crew members who travelled on the same flight as the patient, with quarantine arrangements underway for people considered to be at risk.

Kenya Confirms First Imported Ebola Case

Kenya confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola Virus Disease on October 6.

The patient was a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to the Ministry of Health, he had fallen ill about a month earlier and had received treatment at several hospitals in the DRC.

Also Read: Ruto Orders Enhanced National Response as Kenya Confirms First Ebola Case

He later travelled by road to Kampala before boarding JamboJet flight 8523 to Nairobi, arriving on Saturday, October 3, at 1:10 p.m.

After arriving at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, he was taken to Nairobi Hospital, where he was isolated and assessed before being transferred to the hospital’s East Wing Isolation Facility.

Laboratory tests conducted by the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute independently confirmed that he had Bundibugyo Ebola Virus Disease.

However, the patient later died while receiving supportive treatment.

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