The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned Kenya to take pre cautionary measures in combating the deadly Ebola virus which has devastated three countries in West Africa.
The World’s health body classified Kenya as a high-risk country for the spread of the virus because the country is a major transport hub by air, hosting many flights from the three most affected West African countries.
Updated figure from the World Health Organization indicates that the number of people killed by Ebola in West Africa has risen to 1,069. 56. 128 new cases have been reported in the last two days.
The most hardly hit countries are Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. A Sierra Leonean doctor who treated patients infected with Ebola died on Tuesday, sparking fears for health workers in the country. Nigeria also reported a third Ebola-related death on same Tuesday.
The Kenyan government has said it would not ban flights from any country in West Africa because it has stepped up health checks at its main airport in the capital, Nairobi.
“We do not recommend ban of flights because of porous borders, we have put measures in place to detect those with the disease”, Health Secretary, James Macharia said.
But in a sharp contrast to the decision by the Kenyan government, dozens of countries in West Africa have announced new measures to prevent the disease from spreading into their territories.
Ghana has postponed the opening of its universities and colleges by two weeks to put in place measures to screen students arriving from Ebola-hit countries. Guinea-Bissau has also shut its border with Guinea.
Meanwhile, a consignment of experimental Ebola drugs, ZMapp arrived in Liberia on Wednesday. The untested drug was given the green light by the World Health Organization on Tuesday for the treatment of patients with the Ebola virus in West Africa.
Only around 10 to 12 doses of the drug is available and the Liberian government says two doctors who have contracted the disease while attending to patients will be the first Africans to be given the drug. The government added that the doctors or their families will have to agree to the effect that there would be no liability against anybody before the drug is given. This would be the formality for any person who wants access to the drug.
The Canadian government has said it would be donating 800 to 1,000 doses of the drug it has developed in its laboratory to be used in West Africa.
“Our government is committed to doing everything we can to support our international partners, including providing staff to assist with the outbreak response, funding and access to our experimental vaccine,” Canada’s Health Minister, Rona Ambrose said in a statement.
Ebola is a deadly fever which causes an extremely severe disease in humans and in non-human primates in the form of viral hemorrhagic fever. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, high fever, general weakness, organ failure and heavy bleeding.
Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News
Writer’s Email Address: Adamsisska@googlemail.com
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