Assure Kenyans on their safety, Dr Kalebi says

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Consultant Pathologist Ahmed Kalebi has called on the Kenyan government to reassure citizens of their safety after a case of Ebola virus was recorded.

“We as healthcare workers, we in the public, we need some element of assurance from the government that we have mechanisms to stop another case,” said Kalebi.

Speaking on, KTN the pathologist said that these developments changed everything for the nation after Health CS Aden Duale confirmed the patient had died while receiving treatment at the Nairobi Hospital.

He questioned why the seemingly sick patient was allowed to leave the airport even after going through the screening process and was not flagged before taken by their relatives to hospital.

“We need an audit and we need answers, because was it a defective screening mechanism, was the thermal scanner working,” he posed saying no information has been provided about it or if it was case of a complacent worker.

In a presser on Tuesday, Duale announced that the patient had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Uganda by road and then took a flight to Nairobi.

The Bundibugyo virus broke out in the DRC in May where confirmed cases have ⁠⁠reached 8,300, claiming 4,000 lives, according the government.

Uganda is currently free of the Ebola virus after a declaration in August but before that it had reported 20 cases and two deaths.

Dr Kalebi said that the patient should not have left the airport with the symptoms, they ought to have been quarantined.

“What assurance do we have that there is no other case that has slipped through the cracks,” he said adding that the government should inform Kenyans what they plan to do on contact tracing.

According to Kalebi the government is not fully prepared on how to handle to the disease going by the level of civic education in Kenya.

He called on the health ministry to put out a clarion call to everyone who may have been in contact with the deceased patient to quarantine and contact health officials saying it will save lives.

This comes as the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced that a high level and multidisciplinary team will fly to Kenya to provide appropriate support.

The Centre’s Director General Dr Jean Kaseya said that he had spoken with Kenyan authorities to express his condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased and the Kenyan government.

“I thank the Kenyan authorities for the rapid measures already put in place and reiterate Africa CDC’s full support,” said Dr Kaseya.

“I will personally travel to Kenya in the coming days to assess, together with the national authorities, the needs of the response and any additional support required.”