Kenya - Suspected ebola cases in isolation - all cases negative so far - August 1, 2012 +

[Treyfish]

Panic as Siaya man exhibits Ebola symptoms

Posted by CATHERINE KARONGO on August 1, 2012 <!--end: postmeta-->



NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 1 – Anxiety has gripped Siaya residents after a 27-year-old man was admitted to hospital with symptoms of the deadly Ebola virus.
The man, who was immediately put in a solitary ward in Siaya District Hospital, was admitted Wednesday morning with excessive blood oozing from his gums.
“He is also passing bloody urine,” said Siaya Medical Superintendent Jacktone Omoto who said that was a symptom associated with the haemorrhagic fever.
Omoto said the patient’s blood sample was sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Siaya for testing and the results are expected on Friday at the earliest.
Director of Public Health Shahnaaz Sharif has in the meantime called for calm as the country awaits the results of the tests.
“Don’t panic, I will let you know when we have a case,” he said.

On Monday, the government put on high alert Provincial Directors of Health and District Medical Officers in Western, Nyanza and Rift valley which border Uganda over the outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease.
Public Health Minister Beth Mugo is expected to give a ministerial statement on the specific measures the government has taken since the outbreak was reported in neighbouring Uganda about three weeks ago.
“Mr Speaker I would like her to clarify if she is aware that the disease took a mere three weeks to move from Western Uganda to Kampala which is at the centre of the town and that it is quite possible that it might take a similar period or even a shorter period for it to come to the Eastern part of Uganda and therefore Kenya,” Ikolomani Member of Parliament Boni Khalwale said when he asked for the Ministerial statement...
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2012...bola-symptoms/

[Treyfish]

Re: Uganda: Ebola Sudan identified in 14-18 deaths including Healthcare worker in Kibaale out of 36 total suspected cases, 4 confirmed

Fear of Ebola outbreak in Siaya

Updated 8 mins ago



There is fear that the Ebola outbreak in Uganda has spread to Kenya with Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale claiming that a case has been reported in Siaya.



Khalwale demanded a ministerial statement on the issue saying Kenyan needed to be alerted. We have received a media alert that a case of Ebola has been reported in Siaya,? the MP told parliament on Wednesday.
Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende directed the Minister for Public Health to give a statement on the issue on Thursday afternoon saying the matter of great public interest
...

At the same time the government has formed a national taskforce to respond to a possible outbreak in the country as the deadly Ebola virus continues to sweep through Uganda, raising fears of spreading to Kenya.
Director of Public Health Dr. Shahnaaz Sharrif announced the taskforce on Wednesday saying that all health workers in the country have been put on high alert.

?The Taskforce will monitor the situation and advise the government on Ebola. Similar committees have been formed at the border districts with Uganda,? he said.
In a raft of measures meant to secure the country and reassure a jittery public scared over the possible spread of the hemorrhagic disease, Dr. Sharriff said that relevant labs at the Kenya Institute of Medical research (KEMRI) have been made ready or rapid Ebola tests.
?All facilities have been provided with contingency drugs and isolation facilities have been set up in high risk facilities,? he said.
However the Ministry is against mass screenings of travellers crossing over from Uganda saying they will only focus on a massive public campaign to ensure those with Ebola symptoms report urgently for medical examination.
?Surveillance at the ports of entry has been strengthened and any suspected cases are being handled accordingly,? he said.
He added: ?The government is conducting sensitisation trainings of the health workers in high-risk facilities. The trainings involve surveillance, case investigation, management and infection prevention and control.?
A statement from the Ministry indicated that personal protective equipment have been sent out to all health facilities in high risk of Ebola, with more of the same being procured by the government... http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?arti...break-in-Siaya

[Treyfish]

Re: Kenya - Man with hemorrhagic symptoms hospitalized in isolation - tests pending - Siaya district

Kenya free of Ebola fever as yet


<SMALL>Written By:Judith Akolo, Posted: Wed, Aug 01, </SMALL>
<SMALL></SMALL>
<SMALL></SMALL>The government has clarified that Kenya is free of the Ebola fever that has hit the Western part of Uganda in Kibaale.
Head of Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation Dr. Willis Akhwale said surveillance is still heightened at all boarder points and urged the public to remain calm but cautious whenever they suspect any case as being that of the Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever.
But even as the government moved to forestall fears that the hemorrhagic fever could hit the country the public in Siaya were on the edge with fear after a patient presented Ebola like symptoms at the Siaya District Hospital.
The Head of Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation Dr. Willis Akhwale however allayed fears saying samples taken from the patient have been brought to for testing adding that preliminary investigations on the patient had ruled out Ebola since the patient did not present high fever as is usually the case with Ebola cases.
"The patient has not presented high fever but we are not taking anything to chance, we have quarantined the patient as samples are tested to ascertain the nature of illness," said Dr Willis Akhwale.

Dr. Akhwale said the government remains on high alert and has dispatched equipment and other medical gear to medics operating at the boarder points with Uganda to ensure that diagnosis of any suspected cases and screening is done effectively.
"There is no cause for alarm since of all the 25 epidemics of Ebola that have affected neighbouring countries in the last 36 years, Kenya has always remained free of the hemorrhagic fever," said Dr. Akhwale. ...
http://www.kbc.co.ke/news.asp?nid=77626
<SMALL></SMALL>

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Kenya - Man with hemorrhagic symptoms hospitalized in isolation - tests pending - Siaya district

State forms taskforce to contain ebola
Updated 1 hrs 40 mins ago
By Standard Team

...
Elsewhere, there was a scare in Siaya after a man suspected to have eaten meat from a goat bitten by a cobra started vomiting and bleeding from different parts of the body.

Medical personnel quarantined him and took samples that were sent to Kemri in Nairobi for analysis.

?This is not ebola. He consumed the meat of a goat bitten by a snake. He had no fever which is a symptom of ebola,? said Nyanza Provincial Director of Public Health and Sanitation Services Dr Jackson Kioko.

Kioko commended medical personel for the quick action. ?This shows the officers are on high alert,? he told The Standard.
...

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000063176&pageNo=1

[Treyfish]

Re: Kenya - Man with hemorrhagic symptoms hospitalized in isolation - tests pending - Siaya district

This video says he had a tooth pulled.. mentioned in the story
I guess that could make blood run in the urine and feces if you swallow a gallon of it.. Or he could have eaten some snake bit goat meat .. or got beat real bad in a fight at the bar..by his girlfriend
Ebola Scare In Kenya

Last Modified: 1 Aug 2012 22:25

A Kenyan man from Siaya County has been isolated after he was seen to exhibit Ebola symptoms. This comes as the cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever rise to 36 in Uganda?s Kibaale district. Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has called on his people to remain calm, here in Kenya health officials are on high alert especially at the Kenya-Uganda border where intensive screening exercises are taking place. http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/ktn/?videoID=2000059438

[Treyfish]

Re: Kenya - Man with hemorrhagic symptoms hospitalized in isolation - tests pending - Siaya district - consumption of meat contaimated by snake venom suspected

Strange disease kills five people in Ntungamo, seven hospitalised
Ms Florence Mbabazi, a victim of strange disease at Kitwe Health Centre IV in Ntungamo
Posted Thursday, August 2 2012 at 01:00

Five people in Kibutamo Village in Kitwe Town Council, Ntungamo District have died of a strange disease in the past two weeks and seven others are admitted at a health centre. Kenneth Kwoshaba 22, who was working as a security guard in Kamwenge, died on July 17. Benon Rumanzi, 45, a close neighbour, died three days later.

Faraziya Katayomba, 93, another resident of the village, died three days later. Jovance Katongana, 42, died last Saturday while Geoffrey Turyahebwa, 21, died on Sunday.

Mr Eliphaz Tayebwa, the area village vice chairperson, told visiting Ntungamo district health officials on Tuesday that the deceased were vomiting, had headache, fever, and were complaining of too much heat.
The Ntungamo District Health Officer, Dr Benon Bamuturaki, said they cannot rule out Ebola and have sent samples from the patients to the virus research centre at Entebbe to ascertain the disease. “We can’t say this is not Ebola before we carry out necessary tests. However, the symptoms of Ebola we know are different from these ones,” Dr Bamuturaki said.

Seven others were admitted to Kitwe Health Centre with similar symptoms. A special ward for the people suffering from the strange ailment has been created the health centre.




Dr Bamuturaki asked residents to avoid contact with the affected people. Meanwhile, Kanungu District leaders have asked residents to report any suspected Ebola cases to the concerned authority immediately.
Two people who died of Ebola in Kibaale District where the disease broke out recently, have been buried in Kanungu District. Robert Byomugabe, who had gone to visit his sick sister in Kibaale also got infected and died. He was buried in Kabimbiri, Kanungu on July 28. Mackline Kemitumba passed away in Kibale and her body was transported and buried in Nkunda Village in Nyanga Sub-county on Tuesday.

The LC5 chairperson, Ms Josephine Kasya, asked people should be careful in handling the dead, especially those who pass away from their homes. More than 30 Ebola cases have been registered in western region and Kampala since the hemorrhagic fever broke out in Kibaale District last week.http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/Nation...0/-/index.html

[Treyfish]

Re: Kenya - Man with hemorrhagic symptoms hospitalized in isolation - tests pending - Siaya district - consumption of meat contaimated by snake venom suspected

Official dismisses reports of Ebola
outbreak in western Kenya<ST1:STOCKTICKER>
Ebola fever broke out in the western Uganda region
of Kibaale and has so far seen a total of 33 cases
diagnosed with the fever and 14 deaths
SPECIAL REPORT BY XINHUA CORRESPONDENTS
Fabian Mangera and Stephen Ingati
.

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Kenya?s top health official on Wednesday dismissed reports of an Ebola outbreak in western part of the east African nation which killed more than 10 people in neighboring Uganda last week.

Fears of an Ebola outbreak gripped the residents of Siaya County in western Kenya after as a 27-year-old patient was admitted to Siaya District Hospital with symptoms of the deadly infectious disease.
The patient was admitted early on Wednesday and placed on a solitary ward in the hospital after doctors found him with excessive blood oozing from his gums and passing blood urine.
However, Public Health Director in the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation Dr. Shanhaz Sharrif dismissed such reports and assured Kenyans that all systems have been put in place to avert any outbreak of the deadly disease in Kenya.
Sharrif said the patient who was admitted at the hospital has been discharged.

He called for calm as blood samples which were taken to Kenya Medical Research Institute in Siaya for testing are being examined.

"There is no Ebola in the country.
"Kenyans should remain calm as we await the results of the tests.
"Don?t panic and I will let you know when we have a case.
"The patient who was admitted this morning in Siaya has been discharged," Sharrif told Xinhua by telephone on Wednesday.

Sharrif said surveillance at the ports of entry has been strengthened and that any suspected cases are being handled accordingly.

"The government is conducting sensitization trainings of the health workers in high-risk facilities.
"The trainings involve surveillance, case investigations, management and infection prevention and control," Sharrif said.

Experts said there is an urgent need to increase public awareness on this deadly disease as well as to put in place as strong surveillance mechanism to allow for proper follow-up of all the cases.
Kenya has been fully alert following the outbreak of the deadly disease in Uganda last week.

The Ebola fever broke out in the western Uganda region of Kibaale and has so far seen a total of 33 cases diagnosed with the fever and 14 deaths including a clinical officer who attended to a patient, and her four-month-old child.
Ministry of Public health Head of Disease Prevention Dr. Willis Akhwale said in Nairobi that the government has established a taskforce to respond to the Ebola outbreak in Uganda.

Akhwale said the taskforce comprising of the ministry of health, U.S.-based Center for Disease Control, Kenya Medical Research Institute and the World Health Organization will chart a way forward for Kenya following the outbreak of Ebola in Uganda.

"We will not shut down the common border with Uganda but we are jointly with our neighbor to trace all those who have had contact with Ebola victims in order to avoid transmission into Kenya," Akhwale told Xinhua by telephone on Wednesday.

He noted Ebola is a highly infectious disease but is preventable.
"There is no cause for alarm as there is no suspected case inside Kenya," Akhwale said, adding health officials were briefing the government on measures taken to deal with any eventuality following the outbreak of the Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Uganda?s Kibaale region.

"We have put all health workers in the country on high alert," Sharrif said, adding the taskforce will monitor the situation and advise the government on Ebola.
Sharrif said relevant labs at the KEMRI have been made ready for rapid Ebola tests. "All facilities have been provided with contingency drugs and isolation facilities have been set up in high risk facilities," he said.

People crossing the border to Kenya from Uganda have been required to go for thorough screening to curb a spread of the deadly disease.
The Uganda Red Cross is part of the National Emergency Taskforce that has been set up by the Ministry of Health to stop the disease from spreading more widely.
The Red Cross has mobilized volunteers and staff who are ready to support with case tracking and community awareness.

There is no treatment or vaccine against Ebola, one of the most virulent viral diseases known to humankind. It is transmitted by close personal contact and, depending on the strain.
It kills up to 90 per cent of those who contract the virus.

Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain.
There have been several Ebola outbreaks recorded in the east African nation since the first one in 2000, leaving many people killed and much more traumatized. Kampala is coordinating needs assessments and response efforts aimed at containing the outbreak.
http://www.coastweek.com/3530_ebola_03.htm

</ST1:STOCKTICKER>

[alert]

Eldoret, Kenya (ex Uganda, ex Sudan): Man hospitalized with hemorrhagic symptoms

The title says "woman" but all the references in the article are male:

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000063195&story_title=Panic-in-Eldoret-as-woman-is-admitted-with-Ebola-symptoms

Panic in Eldoret as woman is admitted with Ebola symptoms

Updated 2 hrs 27 mins ago
By TITUS TOO

Panic gripped Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Eldoret (MTRH) on Thursday when a patient was admitted with symptoms of viral disease, Ebola.

The patient who had travelled from Juba in Southern Sudan through Uganda to Eldoret was put in isolation as doctors attending to him put on protective gear to avoid possible infections.

As word went round that a suspected Ebola case has been received, more protective masks were provided as some staff around the casualty area of the hospital avoided handshakes.

The patient?s relatives however said the patient had been sickly for about three weeks in Southern Sudan and that they had decided that he travels for medication at MTRH Eldoret.

On Monday MTRH Director Dr John Kibosia, said the patient had fever and was bleeding while passing urine and diarrhoea.

He said the hospital was taking precautions by putting him in specialised isolation as blood samples from the patient are sent to Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) to ascertain his condition.

?As for now, we are treating it as haemorrhagic fever as we await tests result from Kemri. But since he was in Uganda where Ebola has been reported, we do not want to take chances,? said Dr Kibosia.

Ebola is one of the most virulent diseases in the world and is spread by close personal contact.

There is no vaccine for the virus whose symptoms include sudden onset of fever, weakness, headache, vomiting and kidney problems.

On Wednesday, there was a scare of the disease in Siaya after a man was admitted with symptoms.

[snip]

[alert]

Re: Eldoret, Kenya (ex Uganda, ex Sudan): Person hospitalized with hemorrhagic symptoms

This is the second such alarm case in Kenya in two days. Yesterday, an alarm was raised from Siaya:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=190691

that turned out to have something to do with eating poisoned meat, and the patient recovered and has already been discharged.

The long duration of illness without treatment seems to argue against VHF in the current case as well. The travel from Uganda may also be irrelevant as the man is reported to have been ill before arriving in Uganda (although one could catch VHF in Sudan as well with the wrong exposure).

[alert]

Re: Eldoret, Kenya (ex Uganda, ex Sudan): Person hospitalized with hemorrhagic symptoms

WARNING: Google flags the link here as suspicious.

http://www.kbc.co.ke/news.asp?nid=77637

Eldoret Referral admits patient with Ebola symptoms

Written By:Mary Daraja/Judith Akolo, Posted: Thu, Aug 02, 2012



Kenya has taken precautionary measures to protect the citizenry from the deadly disease
A patient suspected to be suffering from the deadly Ebola disease has been admitted at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.

The hospital director Dr John Kibosia says the middle aged man who had travelled from Sudan through Kampala has been quarantined as tests are being carried out to establish if he has contracted the disease.

Speaking to KBC on phone, Dr Kibosia said that some of the patient's family members who had been in contact with him have also been quarantined.

He said blood samples have already been sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute-KEMRI for analysis.

[snip]

[alert]

Re: Eldoret, Kenya (ex Uganda, ex Sudan): Person hospitalized with hemorrhagic symptoms

The inital article in this thread (about Eldoret) has been altered to reflected the patient is male.

[alert]

Re: Kenya - Man with hemorrhagic symptoms hospitalized in isolation - tests pending - Siaya district - consumption of meat contaimated by snake venom suspected

A python is a constrictor, not a venomous snake. If this really is the cause of his illness, it likely results from some bacterial toxins (strep? staph?) infecting the wounds of the goat before he ate it. Other sources report the goat was rescued from the python before consumption, meaning that infection would have had time to set in.

I'm not sure ingestion of venom would cause illness anyway as venom is intended to get into the bloodstream, not the digestive tract.

https://twitter.com/bobkantel/statuses/230605028992352256

Siaya man with #Ebola like symptoms ate meat frm a goat which ws kild by a python

------------

This article, by contrast, identifes the snake as a cobra, which is venomous:

http://kenya.news24.com/MyNews24/Ebola-scare-in-Siaya-20120801

[alert]

Re: Kenya - Two men with hemorrhagic symptoms hospitalized in isolation - Siaya and Eldoret districts - consumption of &quot;bad&quot; goat meat suspected in Siaya

http://www.the-star.co.ke/classicnews/87835-no-ebola-case-in-kenya-

NO EBOLA CASE IN KENYA .
Thursday, 02 August 2012 18:03 Macharia WamugoMaureen Waruinge .
There is no confirmed case of Ebola in Kenya. Public Health Minister Beth Mugo has told parliament that only two suspected cases have been reported and are being investigated in Siaya District and the Moi referral hospital in Eldoret. She says the Government has taken measures to ensure the disease doesn?t spread to Kenya.

[Treyfish]

Re: Kenya - Two men with hemorrhagic symptoms hospitalized in isolation - Siaya and Eldoret districts - consumption of &quot;bad&quot; goat meat suspected in Siaya

WARNING: Google flags the link here as suspicious.
http://www.kbc.co.ke/news.asp?nid=77637

Three nurses from the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret are among six people isolated.
The nurses came into contact with a patient suspected to have the deadly Ebola disease. The hospital's director Dr John Kibosia says the other three are members of the patient's family.
Speaking to KBC on phone on Thursday, Dr. Kibosia said that the hospital is still awaiting results from the Kenya Medical Research Institute-KEMRI where blood samples from the patient have been sent for analysis.

For a total of 7 in that hospital. Here is a link to the hospital
http://www.mtrh.or.ke/

[alert]

Re: Kenya - Two men with hemorrhagic symptoms hospitalized in isolation - Siaya and Eldoret districts - consumption of &quot;bad&quot; goat meat suspected in Siaya

WARNING: Google flags the link here as suspicious.
http://www.kbc.co.ke/news.asp?nid=77637

Three nurses from the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret are among six people isolated.
The nurses came into contact with a patient suspected to have the deadly Ebola disease. The hospital's director Dr John Kibosia says the other three are members of the patient's family.
Speaking to KBC on phone on Thursday, Dr. Kibosia said that the hospital is still awaiting results from the Kenya Medical Research Institute-KEMRI where blood samples from the patient have been sent for analysis.

For a total of 7 in that hospital. Here is a link to the hospital
http://www.mtrh.or.ke/

Those appear to be the 6 contacts of the first case in Eldoret (the 20M). There is no report yet that any of them are showing symptoms; they have just been isolated as a precaution because of their exposure to the patient.