Ministry of Health director general Patrick Amoth addresses the press following the confirmation of the death of the first Ebola case victim in the country at Afya House, Nairobi, on October 6 /LEAH MUKANGAIMinistry of Health director general Patrick Amoth has said Kenya’s first Ebola patient may have passed through airport screening because the medication the patient was taking could have masked some of the symptoms.
Amoth said the patient had been ill for about a month and had received treatment at several health facilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before travelling to Kenya through Uganda.
He said the patient could still have passed through the screening process, particularly because he had been under treatment.
“We believe that the patient knew that he was already ill and he reached out to his relatives who transported him from the airport to the hospital directly," Amoth said.
'It is potentially possible that some of the medications that he was taking could be able to mask some of the symptoms and therefore give a false positive screening, meaning you could pass through the system because you have taken a medicine, say for example, to lower your temperature."
Amoth said the patient’s decision to go directly to hospital indicated that he was aware that he was unwell.
He said the government was considering isolation facilities in both public and private health facilities because Ebola posed a public health threat.
Amoth said people identified as contacts would remain in isolation for up to 21 days, which is the maximum incubation period for Ebola.
“The incubation period for Ebola is from two to 21 days, and therefore the isolation will be able to take place up to 21 days. And after that, we will be able to do a test to ascertain that they are negative. Then those who are negative will be released,” he said.
He added that anyone in isolation who develops symptoms would be classified as a case and transferred to an Ebola treatment unit for care.
The patient reportedly died while receiving treatment at the Nairobi Hospital, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said.
Duale said the patient underwent the normal public health screening at the Port Health facility at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) before proceeding through immigration.
He was then transported directly from JKIA to Nairobi Hospital by a relative and a friend.
At the hospital, the patient was quickly isolated in a separate room at the Accident and Emergency area before being transferred to the East Wing isolation facility.
Duale said the facility had previously been selected for Covid-19 treatment and had the necessary facilities to manage the patient.
The patient presented with fever, chills, intense fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing, a sore throat and bleeding under the skin at the injection site.
“Based on the above presentation and history of travel to DRC, the doctor collected the sample for testing, and it turned positive for Ebola,” Duale said.
He said the patient was given supportive treatment but died at around 11.30 pm on Monday.
