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EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - KENYA: (SIAYA), SUSPECTED CASE
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A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org


Date: Wed 1 Aug 2012
Source: Capitalfm News [abbreviated & edited]
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2012/08 ... -symptoms/


Anxiety has gripped Siaya residents after a 27-year-old man was admitted to hospital with symptoms of the deadly Ebola virus. The man, who was immediately put in a solitary ward in Siaya District Hospital, was admitted Wednesday [1 Aug 2012] morning with excessive blood oozing from his gums. "He is also passing bloody urine," said Siaya Medical Superintendent Jacktone Omoto, who said that was a symptom associated with the haemorrhagic fever. Omoto said the patient's blood sample was sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Siaya for testing, and the results are expected on Friday [3 Aug 2012] at the earliest. Director of Public Health Shahnaaz Sharif has, in the meantime, called for calm as the country awaits the results of the tests.

On Monday [30 Jul 2012], the government put on high alert Provincial Directors of Health and District Medical Officers in Western, Nyanza and the Rift valley, which border Uganda, over the outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease. Public Health Minister Beth Mugo is expected to give a ministerial statement on the specific measures the government has taken since the outbreak was reported in neighbouring Uganda about 3 weeks ago.

In May last year [2011], the Ebola virus killed a 12-year-old girl in Uganda, prompting the Health Ministry in Kenya to issue an alert to people living on the border.

Ebola is a viral haemorrhagic fever and one of the most dangerous viral diseases known to humankind. There is no known treatment or vaccine for Ebola, which is transmitted through close personal contact. It kills up to 90 percent of victims. Its initial symptoms include persistent fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, which are usually followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rashes on the body as well as external bleeding.

[Byline: Catherine Karongo]

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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>

[Further information and confirmation are awaited. Other than the proximity of the Ugandan border, there is little to substantiate the diagnosis of suspected haemorrhagic fever.

Siaya District is one of the 12 districts that make up Nyanza Province in the southwest part of Kenya. A map of Siaya District can be accessed at: http://siaya.bondo-itc.org/siaya_map.htm. - Mod.CP

A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/r/1zkN.]

Gruß
Birgitt

EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - KENYA (02): NOT
*****************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org


Date: Thu 2 Aug 2012
Source: AllAfrica [abbreviated & edited]
http://allafrica.com/stories/201208030120.html?


Kenya: Siaya Man Negative of Ebola, Fresh Case in Eldoret
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A suspected case of Ebola in Siaya district turned out negative on Thursday, providing a sigh of relief for Kenya despite news that another man had recorded similar symptoms, hundreds of kilometers away in Eldoret [Uasin District of Rift Valley Province].

The 30-year-old man was on Thursday admitted to the Eldoret Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital with symptom similar to those of the haemorrhagic fever. According to the hospital acting Director Dr John Kibosia, the patient who travelled from Sudan passed through Uganda before coming to Kenya, has been put in an isolation ward together with 2 of his relatives whom he came in contact with. "He was bleeding and passing stool with blood and this combination is what we think can easily be one of the haemorrhagic fevers," he asserted.

Dr Kibosia told journalists in Eldoret that his blood samples have been sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute laboratories to ascertain if the man is suffering from the deadly virus. Dr Kibosia added that the hospital had taken precautionary measures to handle Ebola related illnesses.

This is the 2nd case feared in Kenya after a man exhibiting signs of the disease was put in a solitary ward at the Siaya district hospital on Wednesday. However his laboratory tests returned negative.

The disease broke out in Uganda earlier this week killing 16 people. On Monday Kenya declared a high Ebola alert in provinces that border Uganda, after an outbreak of the disease was confirmed in Kampala.

(By Judie Kaberia)

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Communicated by:
ProMEd-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall

[But see WHO Uganda update later today; both cases tested negative. -- Mod.JW]

[Siaya District is one of the 12 districts that make up Nyanza Province in the southwest part of Kenya. A map of Siaya District can be accessed at: http://siaya.bondo-itc.org/siaya_map.htm.

Eldoret is a town in western Kenya and the administrative centre of Uasin Gishu District of Rift Valley Province. Eldoret is currently the fastest growing town in Kenya, and currently the 5th largest in Kenya. A map showing the location of Eldoret can be accessed at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldoret. - Mod.CP.]

EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - TANZANIA: (KAGERA) SUSPECTED
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A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org


Date: Sun 5 Aug 2012
Source: IPPMedia, source The Guardian on Sunday [edited]
http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=44422


Ebola fear hits Kagera
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A team of medical experts from Dar es Salaam was yesterday dispatched to the Kagera region [Tanzania] to further examine 2 patients believed to be suffering from Ebola hemorrhagic fever. But as the team of medical experts was sent to Kagera region, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare [of Tanzania] subsequently confirmed the outbreak of the deadly fever in the western part of the country. Confirming the reports, the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Seif Seleman Rashid, also said that a team of medical experts was still diagnosing a patient in efforts to establish the symptoms.

In the meantime, reports from Nyakahanga designated hospital in Karagwe district, Kagera region indicate that there were 2 patients including a child, suspected to be suffering from the deadly fever that has rocked neighbouring Uganda. According to one of the doctors who diagnosed the patient at Karagwe's Nyakahanga hospital, preliminary findings show that the victim might have contacted the Ebola virus. However, the doctor, who requested anonymity, told the Guardian on Sunday that 'further medical examination' would be conducted to gather more evidence about the possible outbreak of Ebola, adding that the patient had since been quarantined pending final results.

According to the doctor, the 'Ebola patient' was brought to the hospital on Friday morning [3 Aug 2012] and, upon diagnosis, it was established that the patient had suffered from Ebola [virus infection]. The patient, who is a 6-year-old child, was brought to the Mulongo hospital by his mother from a village close to the Uganda-Tanzania boarder after the child developed severe symptoms.

"We are doing further medical examination on a patient ... we will tell the general public once it is confirmed that we are dealing with Ebola virus infections," the doctor said, adding that currently the patient alleged to have been infected was admitted in a separate room and now lives in isolation from other patients at the hospital. He said preliminary check-ups found out that the diagnosis had all signs showed clear symptoms of Ebola -- after which he ordered the patient to be admitted for closer monitoring locally, and further medical examination by medical experts from the ministry headquarters.

He added that the patient had since been placed in a special intensive care room which is out of bounds for all other people -- apart from his mother who is taking care of the patient. However, he said, this was a medical rule aimed at avoiding quick spread of the deadly disease

Another patient also believed to have crossed the border from Uganda was admitted at the hospital as well, but medical investigations of his deteriorating health conditions were still not completed by Saturday evening [4 Aug 2012]. As a precaution, the doctor said his hospital team and the district health workers had since started warning people in surrounding villages to take immediate measures whenever they come across such patients. He has also warned the people living closer to the border with Uganda to be careful not to come into contact with any person whom they see vomiting or bleeding -- clear signs of someone suffering from Ebola.

On Wednesday this week, Dr. Mwinyi told visibly alarmed legislators in Dodoma that a team of medical experts had been dispatched to the border with Uganda, fully equipped with protective gear and medical supplies. The minister advised the general public especially those living in the northern regions of Kagera, Mara, Mwanza and Kigoma -- some of which share border crossings with Uganda -- to take precautions because the disease was highly contagious.

Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) had alerted Tanzania on the Ebola threat, prompting the ministry to issue a press statement elaborating that Ebola (Ebola HF) was a severe, often-fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) that has appeared sporadically since its initial recognition in 1976. The disease is caused by infection with Ebola virus, named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), where it was first recognised. The virus is one of two members of a family of RNA viruses called the Filoviridae; there are five identified subtypes of the Ebola virus -- four of which have been known to cause disease in humans: Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Ivory Coast and Ebola-Bundibugyo. The fifth, Ebola-Reston, has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans.

(By Emmanuel Onyango)

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Communicated by:
ProMEd-mail Rapporteur Kunihiko Iizuka


[Confirmation of the diagnosis of Ebola hemorrhagic fever by laboratory testing is awaited.

Kagera Region is located in the northwestern corner of Tanzania, previously known as West Lake Region before June 1979. Bukoba, Kagera Region's capital, is a fast growing town situated on the shore of Lake Victoria. The region neighbours Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi and lies across the lake from Kenya.

The interactive HealthMap of the Kagera Region of Tanzania can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/r/2*Ka. - Mod.CP]

Gruß
Birgitt

EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - KENYA, TANZANIA: NOT
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A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org


In this posting:
[1] Kenya (Nyanza)
[2] [3] Tanzania (Kagera)

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[1] Kenya (Nyanza)

Date: Mon 6 Aug 2012
Source: Daily Nation [edited]
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Suspected+ ... index.html

A patient, who was admitted to Siaya District Hospital with symptoms similar to those of Ebola [haemorrhagic fever], has tested negative. Nursing Officer Sylvester Ng'anda said the patient, who was treated for thrombocytopaenia -- a condition that leads to lack of plasma in blood vessels and results in bleeding -- was discharged on Monday morning [6 Aug 2012]. "That is the reason why the patient was bleeding from the gums and other openings. We have confirmed he is free from Ebola [hemorrhagic fever] and there should be no panic," he said. He denied claims that the patient was treated for venom [exposure] after he was suspected to have eaten meat from a goat that had been bitten by a snake.

Meanwhile, Tanzania is on high alert as the government investigates 2 suspected cases of the viral disease in the North Western region, near the border with Uganda. Deputy Minister for Health Seif Suleiman Rashid on Monday [6 Aug 2012] told the Xinhua Agency that a team of doctors had been sent to the region to investigate the 2 cases. The 2 patients were admitted to Nyakahanga Hospital in Karagwe District [Kagera Region], after they exhibited symptoms of the haemorrhagic fever. Dr Andrew Charles, who is charge of the hospital, told Xinhua on the phone that blood samples of one of the patients, a 6-year-old boy, had been sent to Dar es Salaam for tests. [_Ebolavirus_] is spread only through contact with infected body fluids. The disease has killed 16 people in Uganda.

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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Kunihiko Iizuka

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[2] Tanzania (Kagera)
Date: Mon 6 Aug 2012
Source: GantDaily.com, All Headline News (AHN) report [edited]
http://gantdaily.com/2012/08/06/suspect ... ia-probed/

A Tanzanian mother and son who suffered Ebola-like symptoms after returning from a trip to Uganda are isolated in a local hospital on Monday [6 Aug 2012] as doctors await the result of their blood tests to know if they have the deadly disease. The patients were suspected of contracting Ebola [haemorrhagic fever] as they came from the neighboring Uganda, where an [ebolavirus] outbreak has killed 16 people and infected 53 others in Kibaale. They are confined in the Nyakahanga Hospital in Karagwe District, Kagera region in western Tanzania while samples of their blood are tested in Dar es Salaam.

The boy, 6, was admitted to the hospital after showing symptoms of Ebola [haemorrhagic fever], according to Dr Andrew Charles, who is in charge at the Nyakahanga Hospital. The child was placed in an intensive care unit and separated from other patients. His condition was improving as of Sunday [5 Aug 2012], the doctor said.

Ebola [hemorrhagic fever] symptoms include fever, body aches, rash, abdominal pain, and severe bleeding from body openings. It is spread through contact of body fluids from an infected person. The chances of dying from [ebolavirus infection] are 50 to 90 percent based on fatalities from previous outbreaks as there is no cure or treatment for the viral disease.

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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Kunihiko Iizuka

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[3] Tanzania (Kagera)
Date: Tue 7 Aug 2012
Source: Daily News, Tanzania, Local News [edited]
http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/lo ... s-ministry

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has dismissed as unfounded reports that [an ebolavirus outbreak] has crossed to Karagwe District, Kagera Region from Uganda where over 40 cases have been reported. A statement released in Dar es Salaam, however, admitted that there was a patient reported in the district with symptoms relating to those of Ebola [haemorrhagic fever], but medical examinations have ruled out the connection.

"A 6-year-old boy was on Friday [3 Aug 2012], taken to Nyakahanga Hospital in Karagwe with symptoms feared to be that of [ebolavirus infection], but preliminary tests found out that he was suffering from urinary track infection (UTI) that caused him to urinate blood," reads the statement. It noted further that other checkups for malaria, hepatitis, and typhoid conducted to the same patient tested negative and that the hospital continues to treat the patient who is admitted in isolation room together with his mother, as experts continue with investigation on their health.

It noted further that a team of experts was dispatched to Kagera Region over the weekend [4-5 Aug 2012] which has also carried medical examination on the patient and sent blood samples to the national and international laboratories for further checkups. 'The team has reported that the patient's health is improving significantly and that all the bad signs such as fever, vomiting, and urinating blood have all stopped and there are no [ebolavirus infection] symptoms found so far," reads another part.

The statement reiterated that the ministry has positioned itself very well in defending its people over the disease in case it breaks in Tanzania. The ministry has dispatched teams of experts to various regions including Mara, Mwanza, Kagera, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, and Arusha.

In another development, the Kagera Acting Regional Medical Officer (RMO), Mr Herman Kabirigi, said the rumours were unfounded and aimed to create unnecessary tension among the people. He said that a team of experts had been dispatched to all entry points to monitor movements, adding that a 24-hour surveillance was being conducted at all entry points. The entry points include Rusumo and Kabanga in Ngara district, Kaisho and Murongo in Karagwe District, Kyaka and Mutukula in Misenyi District. Mr Kabirigi urged residents in the region to take precautions by boiling drinking water and using toilets.

Kagera Region is on high [ebolavirus] alert following reports that neighbouring Uganda risked a major resurgence of the disease after 43 cases were discovered recently. The warning came after Uganda said an epidemic had killed 18 people this month [August 2012], including 4 clinical officers who were attending sick patients.

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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Kunihiko Iizuka

[There are now no confirmed cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever beyond the surroundings of Kibaale district in Uganda. Much of the reporting of this outbreak has been both alarmist and inaccurate.

Siaya District Hospital is a large teaching hospital in the town of Siaya, Nyanza Province, Western Kenya. The interactive HealthMap/ProMED-mail map of Kenya can be accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/30ty.

Kagera Region is located in the northwestern corner of Tanzania, previously known as West Lake Region before June 1979. Bukoba, Kagera Region's capital, is a fast growing town situated on the shore of Lake Victoria. The region neighbours Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi and lies across the lake from Kenya. The interactive HealthMap/ProMED-mail map of Tanzania can be accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/30K*. - Mod.CP]