Kenya has tested 196 suspected cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), with all samples returning negative, as a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to raise concerns about the potential spread of the virus across the region.
Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni said the tests were conducted at the National Virology Reference Laboratory (NVRL) and other collaborating laboratories. The results indicate that no Ebola infection has been confirmed among the suspected cases tested so far.
Kenyan health authorities are maintaining surveillance and laboratory testing as part of efforts to strengthen early detection and prevent the disease from spreading into the country.
“All 196 suspected cases have tested negative for EVD,” Muthoni said in an update issued on Sunday, 16 August.
The results mean Kenya has not confirmed an Ebola infection among the suspected cases tested so far.
Kenyan health authorities are continuing surveillance and laboratory testing as part of measures aimed at ensuring early detection and preventing the spread of the disease.
The country’s preparedness comes as the DRC confronts a rapidly expanding Ebola outbreak that has placed additional pressure on an already strained humanitarian and healthcare system.
The United Nations said the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, declared by DRC authorities on May 15, has killed 2,184 people, representing nearly 47% of those infected.
More than 4,660 cases have been recorded across six of the DRC’s 26 provinces, with Ituri remaining the epicentre of the outbreak and accounting for more than 3,400 cases.
Uganda has also reported 20 cases, increasing concerns about further regional transmission and placing neighbouring countries, including Kenya, on heightened alert.
The UN has warned that the outbreak is putting significant pressure on humanitarian and health systems in the DRC.
The UN has allocated an additional Sh3.934 billion from its Central Emergency Response Fund to support the Ebola response in the DRC and neighbouring countries. The funding is on top of the Sh3.096 billion previously released, bringing the total allocation to Sh7.03 billion.
The UN humanitarian office has deployed an additional 20 staff members to the epicentre, while the World Food Programme (WFP) has expanded support at Ebola treatment and isolation centres.
Since the end of May, WFP has provided more than 260,000 hot meals at treatment and isolation centres in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.
The humanitarian response has been complicated by conflict in eastern DRC, particularly in North Kivu and South Kivu, where fighting is taking place alongside the Ebola outbreak.
The UN said about 2.6 million people across eastern DRC are seriously malnourished, with more than half of them in Ituri.
Humanitarian organisations have agreed to scale up the global response by doubling teams conducting safe and dignified burials, tripling treatment capacity, improving contact tracing and deploying more experienced managers.
Despite the regional threat, Kenya’s latest laboratory results show that none of the 196 suspected cases tested so far has been confirmed as positive.