Kenyans in border town 'afraid' of Ebola risk after first death

Kenyans in a border town with Uganda express a mixture of fear and confidence about the Ebola situation after Kenya reported its first ever death from the disease earlier this month.

The man who died of the disease had just returned from the DR Congo via Uganda. “I heard Ebola killed so many in Congo, sweeping it clean,” says Phelister Nekesa, after returning to Kenya following a visit to Uganda. “So, I am very afraid of seeing people crossing the border anyhow without proper care.”

After the man's reported death the authorities said they would be stepping up Ebola screening at all entry points to the country, but some feel this is not enough.

"I plead with governments to move these measures deep down the villages you see, for us those coming to town we get tested and screened," says Ramadhan Wahatenze, a Ugandan who works in Kenya and crosses the border daily.

The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in May. The deadly disease has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.

Kenya has never previously reported a case. Neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 -- almost all people who had travelled from the DRC -- and two deaths, before being declared Ebola-free in August.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said a team was heading to Kenya to provide assistance, and its director general Jean Kaseya would also visit in the coming days.

First Ebola death

The Kenyan citizen, who has not been named but was referred to as a 40-year-old businessman, fell ill around a month ago and had been treated in the DRC, Health Minister Aden Duale told reporters.

He travelled overland to the Ugandan capital, Kampala, and then flew to Nairobi on October 3.

Duale said the man was suffering "fever, chills, intense fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing, sore throat and bleeding under the skin at the injection sites."

The man's relatives took him to a Nairobi hospital, where he was confirmed positive for the virus, before he "regrettably passed on last night at around 11:30" in the evening, Duale said.

Arrangements for a "safe and dignified burial" were planned for later on Tuesday, in line with public health standards.

Kenyan authorities have identified 28 contacts of the deceased, including family members and healthcare workers, but none have tested positive for Ebola so far.

Authorities are pursuing a further 23 passengers and four crew members who were on the same flight and that potential quarantine for those at risk had been prepared.

"I wish to assure the public not to panic, as all systems are in place to mitigate the spread of the disease," Duale said.

More care was needed at border entry points as "diseases know no boundaries," Patrick Amoth, director general at the health ministry, told reporters.

"The failure is the system that did not work," he added to AFP, questioning how someone with such obvious symptoms was able to travel.

DRC outbreak

As of October 2, the World Health Organization had recorded 4,082 deaths out of 8,463 cases since the emergence in the DRC of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is still neither a vaccine nor a specific treatment.

After starting in the northeastern Ituri province, the current outbreak has spread to seven provinces in the north and east.

The virus has hit unstable regions in the vast central African country where armed clashes and violence, alongside a critical lack of resources, have hindered the health response.

Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières warned Monday of an "alarming surge" in cases in eastern North Kivu province which borders Uganda.

Kenyans reacted furiously to government plans earlier this year for the creation of an Ebola facility for US citizens at Laikipia Air Base, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Nairobi.