Economy

Ministry says passenger did not die of Ebola

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The body of a female passenger is removed from JKIA. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI

The Health ministry said on Sunday that a passenger who arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi from Juba on Saturday evening did not die of Ebola.

Health secretary James Macharia said test samples confirmed that the female passenger did not have Ebola or the Marburg virus.

He aid that the victim was suffering from a medical complication and was set for specialised treatment at the Nairobi Hospital, but succumbed to her condition.

There was panic after the woman arrived at JKIA’s Port Health Centre with Ebola-like symptoms. Kenya has already been put on a list of countries that are likely to report a case of Ebola within the next 30 days.

The World Bank released the Ebola Impact Index last week, which shows that Kenya has a five per cent chance of having to deal with a case of the disease in the next one month if the virus continues to spread in West Africa.

READ: WHO: Kenya in list of 19 countries at risk from Ebola

The World Bank said that Kenya is among 19 countries that could report a case as long as the dreaded virus continues to spread, especially in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The World Bank and the World Health Organisation say that despite the distance between the two regions, Kenya is still vulnerable to reporting a case due to the airport linkages between the two.