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Kenya: Brace for the Deadly Ebola, Kenyans Warned

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  • Kenya: Brace for the Deadly Ebola, Kenyans Warned

    Kenya: Brace for the Deadly Ebola, Kenyans Warned

    The Nation (Nairobi)

    19 September 2007
    Posted to the web 18 September 2007

    Nairobi

    Ebola, the dreaded disease and whose cure is yet to be discovered, could be rearing its head in the country.

    The full disclosure is, however, expected on Thursday when the Ministry of Health presents a statement in the House as requested by Kuresoi MP Moses Cheboi (Kanu).

    Health Assistant minister Wilfred Machage told MPs that it was possible that Ebola has struck in parts of Nakuru District in Kuresoi constituency.

    He said that the deaths of two women in the area under bizarre circumstances could either be attributed to Ebola or Rift Valley Fever.

    "There is likelihood that it is Ebola but I will bring more information on Thursday when I give the comprehensive ministerial statement on the issue," he said.

    Dr Machage was responding to a request for a ministerial statement by Mr Cheboi who wanted to know the kind of disease which could have struck his constituency following the deaths of two women.

    The Assistant minister said that the ministry had received reports about the deaths and had dispatched medical staff to the area to find out the cause. In the meantime, Dr Machage asked residents of the area not to eat meat from dead animals which he stated, could result in more deaths.

    Ebola, the dreaded disease and whose cure is yet to be discovered, could be rearing its head in the country.
    Last edited by Gert van der Hoek; September 19, 2007, 06:06 AM.
    ?Addressing chronic disease is an issue of human rights ? that must be our call to arms"
    Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief The Lancet

    ~~~~ Twitter:@GertvanderHoek ~~~ GertvanderHoek@gmail.com ~~~

  • #2
    Re: Kenya: Brace for the Deadly Ebola, Kenyans Warned

    Two Die of Unidentified Disease in Kuresoi

    The Nation (Nairobi)

    NEWS

    19 September 2007

    Posted to the web 18 September 2007
    Nairobi

    Two women have died of an unknown disease in Kuresoi constituency over the past two days, the area MP has said.

    Mr Moses Cheboi said yesterday that the victims died after complaining of severe headache and suffering from convulsions.

    He said that a third victim, also a woman, was admitted to Kamwaura Health centre on Monday afternoon with similar symptoms.

    Mr Cheboi said the first victim died on Sunday while the other died a day later while being taken to hospital.

    The MP said he had already reported the matter to senior medical officers in Nakuru and in Nairobi for urgent action.

    Yesterday, Rift Valley provincial medical officer Dr John Odondi told the Nation that the MP had contacted him over the matter.

    "We have directed our officers on the ground, who include the public health officers and the MoH, to provide us with clinical and other technical details regarding the disease," Dr Odondi said.

    Separately, Government inspectors have been sent to a private school in Lanet, Nakuru to establish the cause of a disease outbreak.

    The officials visited St Georges Muthaiti school for inspections after some parents alerted the local provincial administration of the outbreak.

    Yesterday, the officers held a meeting with the school management led by Mr George Ngarama. They, however, refused to divulge to the press the outcome of their discussion which lasted for over an hour.

    Sources told the Nation that some of the affected students were admitted to hospital with symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting and had been withdrawn from school by their parents.

    Mr Ngarama said he had consulted with the Nakuru district commissioner and consented to the inspection and denied allegations that the school risked being closed following the alleged disease outbreak.

    Two women have died of an unknown disease in Kuresoi constituency over the past two days, the area MP has said.
    ?Addressing chronic disease is an issue of human rights ? that must be our call to arms"
    Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief The Lancet

    ~~~~ Twitter:@GertvanderHoek ~~~ GertvanderHoek@gmail.com ~~~

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    • #3
      Re: Kenya: Brace for the Deadly Ebola, Kenyans Warned

      Minister dispels fears of an Ebola outbreak

      By Elizabeth Mwai and Beatrice Obwocha

      The Government has allayed fears that the mysterious disease that claimed two lives in Rift Valley Province is the dreaded Ebola.

      This calms anxiety that has gripped the country that the Ebola outbreak reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may have found its way to Kenya.

      The deputy director of Medical Services, Dr Shahhanaaz Sharif, said the disease was not Ebola as there were no bleeding tendencies from the deceased.

      Health Assistant minister Dr Wilfred Machage had on Tuesday told MPs that it was possible Ebola had struck parts of Nakuru District in Kuresoi constituency.

      Machage had said the deaths of two women in the area in bizarre circumstances could either be attributed to Ebola or Rift Valley Fever.

      Three women have died from the strange disease that has struck Rift Valley. Two of the women lived 15km apart while the third was a student. Sharif said the three patients had similar symptoms of headache, fever and pain in the joints. "There were no signs of bleeding from the three patients and we have ruled out a case of Ebola," Sharif said.

      Speaking at a city hotel during the official opening of a communication workshop, Shariff said they ministry would issue a full report once the specimen collected have been tested.

      Sharif explained that Ebola was characterised by severe bleeding and was transmitted through close contact.

      He said initial indicators show that the three deaths could be attributed to malaria, but this had to be verified after tests were carried out.

      Sharif blamed the delay in conducting the tests on poor roads that have complicated the transportation of the specimen.

      The doctor said it was highly unlikely that the disease could have come to Kenya and skipped Uganda, which is closer to the DRC.

      Meanwhile, another person succumbed to a disease with similar symptoms in Molo.

      A 58-year-old man died in Sirikwa on Tuesday night, tens of kilometres away from where the two women died.

      Rift Valley Province Medical Officer, Dr John Odondi, confirmed the death and said he had deployed inspectors to the affected areas

      ?Addressing chronic disease is an issue of human rights ? that must be our call to arms"
      Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief The Lancet

      ~~~~ Twitter:@GertvanderHoek ~~~ GertvanderHoek@gmail.com ~~~

      Comment

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