Panic gripped Kirigiti Village in
Kiambu after a woman with Ebola-
like symptoms died on Wednesday
evening.
The woman, who lived in a rented
house, is reported to have started
vomiting blood and bleeding from
the nose earlier in the day.
“She called me and requested me
to rush her to the hospital. She
was coughing, vomiting blood and
bleeding from the nostrils, which
really caused panic,” said
Josephine Wanjiku, a neighbour.
She collapsed at the bus terminus,
where she had walked to catch a
matatu to Kiambu District Hospital
for treatment.
Because the woman had symptoms
almost similar to those of the
deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD),
no one, including the police and
the chiefs, were willing to go near
her.
“She died as people watched her
helplessly from a distance because
they did not want to get any
contact with her for fear of
contracting the ailment,” a witness,
Joseph Kamau, said.
NOT EBOLA
But Kiambu Hospital medical
superintendent Dr John Kariuki
said there was no cause for alarm,
saying the woman was not
suffering from Ebola.
Dr Kariuki said initial tests
established that she was suffering
from a haemorrhagic fever whose
symptoms are almost similar to
those of Ebola.
“There is no need for panic
because based on the initial tests,
it has been established that she is
not suffering from Ebola but
medics are carrying out more tests
to clear everything,” he said.
The doctor also said the
investigations also revealed that
the woman have not travelled to
outside country lately.
According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), haemorrhagic
fever is a general term for a
severe illness, sometimes
associated with bleeding, that may
be caused by a number of viruses.
The body was moved to the
Kenyatta National Hospital
mortuary.
Several incidents of people
developing or dying of symptoms
similar to those of Ebola have
occurred in Kenya, but after
medical investigations, the victims
were found to be free of the
deadly ailment.
In August, WHO classified Kenya
as a "high-risk" country for the
spread of Ebola because it is a
major transport hub, with many
flights from West Africa.
However, no case of Ebola has
been reported in Kenya since the
outbreak of the disease, which has
killed more than 6,000 people in
three West Africa countries, and
the government has maintained
the country is well equipped to
handle any Ebola case that may
arise.
