Lab tests become negative for Ebola after quarantining 4 patients in custody in Kericho »Capital News

By JEREMIAH WAKAYA, NAIROBI, Kenya, June 17 – Laboratory tests have confirmed that the quarantined patient at the Kericho County Reference Hospital was not suffering from Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

A statement from the Ministry of Health said that the results of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) confirmed that the symptoms presented by the patient did not correspond to Ebola.

"The results of tests conducted by KEMRI Laboratories on blood samples of the 36-year-old woman currently admitted to the isolation unit of the Kericho County Consultation Hospital were confirmed Negative for the Ebola virus and other viral haemorrhagic fevers, "Cabinet of Health Secretary Kariuki said Sicily.

The 36-year-old woman had come from the Busia border to see her husband in Kericho.

Her husband and two of his friends were also quarantined, but the secretary of the Health Cabinet, Sicily Kariuki, badured that there was no reason to alarm.

The lady was quarantined Monday morning at the Kericho County Reference Hospital after experiencing symptoms similar to those of the Ebola virus.

Kariuki had earlier in the day conducted an inspection tour at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to ensure the preparation of the pbadenger screening facility.

Kericho County stated that the quarantine procedure was implemented as a precautionary measure and that the symptoms presented by the patient could also be related to a disease other than Ebola.

"It's important to note that the symptoms presented by the patient may be indicative of any other medical problem.Therefore there is no confirmed case of Ebola in Kericho yet," said Timothy Kemei, responsible for communication in the county.

The ministry said, however, that health officials will remain on alert after an outbreak in neighboring Uganda last week reported two deaths from the disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in Uganda has confirmed that two samples have been tested positive for Ebola.

"Two more samples were sent to UVRI (Uganda Virus Research Institute) and tested positive. So we have three confirmed cases of Ebola in Uganda, "said WHO in Uganda on its Twitter account, citing a presentation by Ugandan Minister of Health Ruth Achieng.

The agency began ring vaccination in Kasese District, Uganda, where 43 people suspected of contact with infected people were vaccinated.

Patients who died in Uganda reportedly visited a relative in the Democratic Republic of Congo who was diagnosed with Ebola.

The Ebola virus spreads by contact with the blood, body fluids or secretions of an infected person.
Since the disease was discovered in the DRC in 1976, the worst epidemic was recorded between 2014 and 2016, killing more than 11,000 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.