KISUMU, Oct 2026 – Sensitising the public, creating isolation wards, and establishing quarantine centres are among the measures laid down by the Kisumu County Government, the Ministry of Health, and other stakeholders in their efforts to combat any possible threats from Ebola.
Speaking to the media alongside the Kenya Centre for Disease and Prevention public participation forum held at the Mama Grace Onyango Social, Culture and Recreational Centre on Tuesday, Kisumu County Director of Health Fredrick Oluoch said they had heightened contact tracing and quarantine measures for patients, especially those travelling from affected areas such as the DRC and Uganda, and cities like Nairobi.
His remarks came as the country reported one case of an Ebola victim who had passed away a week earlier.
According to Oluoch, the Health Cabinet Secretary, Aden Duale, had issued an Ebola public order, and public health officers were now at the forefront of enforcing it.
Consequently, the county health department has been raising awareness about possible Ebola symptoms through community health promoters and public health officers.
“It normally has an incubation period of 2 to 21 days and is caused by the Ebola virus, previously known as Ebola virus. It is associated with bleeding from all the body openings, severe headache, fatigue, fever, muscle and joint pains, and sometimes diarrhoea,” he explained.
Oluoch added that they were working closely with KEMRI and the National Public Health Laboratories; they had tested two suspected cases of Ebola, which had returned negative results.
Suspicion arises when there is a history of, or contact with, people who have travelled from affected areas.
“We have set up isolation wards at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) and Kisumu County Referral Hospital (KCRH), and quarantine centres across the county,” he elaborated.
Oluoch further reiterated that Ebola case fatality rates are very high, ranging from 45 to 90 per cent for the recent virus, with a high chance of death and 50-50 survival chances.
He also called for a more coordinated, multi-agency approach to centralising surveillance efforts.
“If you look at the preparedness level, it’s not uniform across the 47 counties, and we would like KCDC to take charge of disease outbreak detection and response. They intend to set up regional laboratories across the country.”
The public were, however, cautioned to avoid handshakes, hugging, crowded places and contact with those who had travelled from affected areas, and to use hand sanitiser.
“Going forward, we expect all residents to have hand sanitisers and we will continue offering health education in chief barazas, training of CHPs and regular media briefs on Ebola,” Oluoch said.
