By Nelson Musungu, Bungoma
Bungoma County has designated three health facilities as Ebola isolation and quarantine centres as part of heightened preparedness measures aimed at preventing a possible outbreak of the deadly viral disease.
The facilities includes Lwakhakha health centre, the Bungoma County Referral Hospital (BCRH) and Webuye County Hospital have been equipped to receive and manage suspected Ebola cases while health authorities have intensified disease surveillance and screening activities along key border entry points, particularly at the Kenya-Uganda border.
Bungoma County health and sanitation director Caleb Watta, said Ebola is one of the viral hemorrhagic diseases which belongs to the same group as Mpox, noting that it has similar presentation in terms of the signs and symptoms.
He reported that the common signs and symptoms of Ebola include fever, general body malice and basically the body being uncomfortable and sometimes goes to an extent of having hemorrhagic (bleeding from all openings of the body).
“When you compare Ebola and Mpox basically, Ebola is highly infectious and more viral compared to Mpox and the most common cause of the disease is the virus and when someone comes in contact it can spread very fast,” Watta stated.
The origin of the disease outbreak is Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but there are reported cases of the disease in Uganda.
“In Uganda we have like 4 cases which have been reported and are still under close monitoring and management, Ebola has a high case of fatality rate,” he added.
He reported that DRC has recorded almost 10 deaths from disease adding that there are those who have recovered from the attack after close medical monitoring by healthcare providers.
However, Watta admitted that Bungoma is among the most at risk counties because it falls under the northern corridor through the Malaba border.
“Within Bungoma we have Sub counties which boarders’ neighboring country, Uganda; Sirisia and Cheptais,” he noted.
He affirmed that Bungoma has not recorded any Ebola case.
He noted that Bungoma County has only one gazetted point of entry at Lwakhakha along the Kenya-Uganda border, where health surveillance and screening measures have been intensified.
However, he expressed concern over the county’s close proximity to the busy Malaba border crossing in neighbouring Busia County, warning that the high volume of cross-border movement through the region could increase the risk of disease transmission.
He said health officials are therefore maintaining heightened vigilance and working closely with neighbouring counties and national authorities to ensure any suspected Ebola cases are detected and managed promptly.
“We have also put in place a response team which basically they are trying to ensure that in case of anything suspected they are to be isolated and managed accordingly,” he said,
In addition, Watta said that they have intensified sanitization of healthcare providers and the community about the Ebola outbreak to ensure that they have a high index of suspicion in case of a patient with features or symptoms which are suggestive of Ebola disease.
He said that the county has partnered with the ministry of health, Dumisha Afya and the Kenya Red cross so that they support PPEs.
