Kenya's MTRH quarantines one Ebola contact for 21 days, says no Ebola patient admitted

Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret has put one person in 21-day quarantine as a precaution against Ebola and has admitted no Ebola patient, its chief executive, Dr Philip Kirwa, said on 22 October.

Kenya has recorded nine confirmed cases of Bundibugyo Ebola, one of them fatal, since the outbreak was reported on 6 October. The latest case was confirmed on 19 October. The Ministry of Health says the infections form one cluster and that 134 of the 135 identified contacts have been traced.

"We have no Ebola-infected patients. Quarantine is not equal to being an infected person," Kirwa said, as quoted by the Kenyan news site Eldoret Leo. The hospital rejected social media claims that it had taken in an Ebola patient.

The state broadcaster KBC and the news site Kenyans.co.ke said the person was found through contact tracing linked to confirmed Bundibugyo cases. The Standard said the person had been in contact with a suspected Ebola case on an aircraft 20 days earlier.

Kirwa said the person had no fever, bleeding, vomiting or diarrhoea and had tested negative for Ebola. He said MTRH, one of the isolation centres identified by the Ministry of Health, has a rapid response team and runs simulation exercises. The hospital's outreach targets communities linked to cross-border movement, including long-distance truck drivers.

A final confirmatory test is scheduled for 23 October, Eldoret Leo said. The person will be released after 21 days if no symptoms appear.

All 14 samples tested from alerts across the country in the previous 24 hours were negative, the Ministry of Health said, as reported by The Standard. The ministry's emergency line is 719 (also *719#) and its WhatsApp number is 0700 719 719.

The first group of quarantined contacts is due to leave quarantine on Sunday 25 October.