May 27 (Reuters) – The U.S. is discussing with Kenya opening a facility there to quarantine American citizens who become exposed to the Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
Kenya’s health ministry said in a statement that it was in discussions with the U.S. and other global partners about cooperating on the response to Ebola but did not mention the plan for a quarantine facility.
The facility would be staffed by members of the U.S. Public Health Service, a uniformed branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, according to the two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Kenya’s government has not yet approved the plan and wants the facility to be open to all nationalities, not just U.S. citizens, the two officials said, adding that Kenya also wanted increased U.S. aid if the plan was to go ahead.
The facility would be set up on an air force base in Laikipia in central Kenya, one of the officials said.
The official said Britain had also been involved in talks about the quarantine facility but did not elaborate further.
Kenya’s health ministry and the UK foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In its statement, Kenya’s health ministry said “any arrangements regarding international health cooperation would be guided by Kenya’s national laws”.
The White House and HHS did not respond to requests for comment.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration was expected to deploy U.S. public health officers to Kenya to staff a potential quarantine facility there.
FAST-GROWING OUTBREAK
Health authorities are racing to contain a fast-growing outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
Ebola is a severe and often fatal disease transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated objects.
To date, no cases of Ebola disease have been confirmed in the U.S. and the risk to the general public remains low, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
In Congo, there have been 906 suspected cases, including 105 confirmed, with more than 220 suspected deaths and 10 confirmed fatalities, CDC’s latest data show. Uganda has reported seven confirmed cases and one death, with most infections linked to the initial cases.
(Reporting by Aaron Ross and Vincent Mumo Nzilani in Nairobi; Additional reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Toby Chopra, Aidan Lewis and Bill Berkrot)
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