The World Health Organisation(WHO) has advised the Kenya government against imposing travel or trade restrictions following the country’s first reported Ebola case.
In a statement on Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also urged other countries not to restrict travel to or trade with Kenya and other affected countries based on the currently available information.
Ghebreyesus said WHO was closely monitoring the situation and would, where necessary, verify any travel and trade measures introduced in response to the outbreak.
“WHO advises against any restriction of travel to, or trade with, the affected countries based on the currently available information. We continue to closely monitor and, where necessary, verify travel and trade measures in relation to this epidemic,” he stated.
At the same time, the WHO boss said the organisation is continuing to support Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in contact tracing to ensure all those suspected of having had contact with the identified case are identified.
“WHO is supporting the governments of Kenya, the DRC, and Uganda in contact tracing, surveillance, screening, and other response measures to rapidly identify potential cases and prevent further spread of the virus,” he added.
The warning comes a day after Kenya reported its first-ever case of the Ebola virus. The man, who is of Somali origin, travelled from DRC to Uganda and to Kenya and died at the Nairobi Hospital two days after he arrived.
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