Ebola: Don’t panic, but stay alert

CS Aden Duale.Kenya has good reason to be reassured by how it handled its first imported Ebola case. The patient was isolated and treated in hospital, and health authorities quickly began quarantining people who may have been exposed.

These are important steps. But reassurance must not become complacency. The absence of a wider outbreak in Kenya does not mean the danger has passed, particularly as infections continue to rise in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo bordering Uganda, such as Ituri and North Kivu.

Kenyans doing business in these areas, including transporters, should exercise particular caution. Anyone who suspects they have been exposed should contact health authorities rather than travel to a hospital without first seeking guidance.

The Ministry of Health must increase surveillance at airports and land borders, communicate clearly with the public and provide timely updates on contact tracing.

Those asked to quarantine or cooperate with health teams should do so fully. Accurate information is essential, and rumours or stigma against people returning from affected areas will only undermine the response.

Ebola is a serious disease, but panic will not contain it. Neither will dismissing the threat because Kenya has reported only one imported case so far.

Quote of the Day: “Death and its associates, after the initial shock, produce callousness.” —Indian novelist R K Narayan was born on October 10, 1906