The United States has raised its travel advisory for Kenya to Level 3, urging Americans to reconsider travel to the country after Ebola cases reached eight, including one death, in the East African nation’s first outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain.
The State Department updated the advisory on October 19, moving Kenya up from Level 2 because of health risks. “Reconsider travel to Kenya due to risk of health, crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and traffic safety,” the advisory stated, according to reports. The CDC has issued a separate travel health notice for Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease in Kenya.
Eight cases, no community spread yet
Kenya confirmed its eighth case on Sunday: a 49-year-old patient attendant who had cared for the first Ebola patient and tested positive while in quarantine, according to reports. The first patient, a Kenyan man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo, travelled through Uganda to Nairobi and died on October 5. Subsequent infections among relatives and healthcare workers raised the tally to eight.
Authorities have identified 130 contacts linked to the first case, with 128 traced and placed under quarantine, according to reports. Officials say there is no evidence of wider community transmission and the risk to the general public remains low. Kenya has strengthened screening at border points and airports, contact tracing, laboratory testing and isolation arrangements.
A regional crisis
The outbreak is linked to a major epidemic centred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has recorded at least 4,000 deaths since May, according to reports. The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or specific treatment. The WHO said last week there was no evidence of community transmission in Kenya yet, as contacts remain under daily monitoring, but the advisory upgrade signals Washington is taking no chances. Travellers are urged to weigh the risks carefully before deciding whether to visit.
