Ebola alert issued

Kenya’s Public Health Minister Sam Ongeri on Monday issued an Ebola alert following the death of a female police recruit suspected to have died from the disease at Kiganjo Police Training College in Nyeri, central province, the ‘East African Standard’ newspaper reported. He said following the death of the 24 year-old recruit, a team from the ministry and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) had been dispatched to the district to investigate and get epidemiological data on the case. Ongeri said that the team had already put up a ward in Kiganjo to isolate any further suspected cases. He said the female recruit who hailed from Siaya district, western Kenya, joined the college on 17 February, 2001 and had since remained there. He said she fell ill on 31 March and developed symptoms of haemorrhagic fever such as shivering, vomiting and weakness. She later started bleeding from all open parts of her body and vomited blood. A source from WHO told IRIN that case did not “fit in” with Ebola. “In this case, the victim was admitted on 1 April, but died the following day bleeding profusely,” he said. “With haemorrhagic fever cases and in particular, Ebola cases, there is usually the incubation period, clinical period and then the final stage when there is bleeding,” he explained. Meanwhile, another Kiganjo police college recruit was admitted to Nyeri’s Mathari hospital suffering from similar symptoms. The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) television reported on Monday that the 19 year-old was admitted to the hospital’s isolation room.