Kenya has asked Saudi Arabia to lift its Ebola-related travel restrictions, arguing that the measures are disproportionate to the country’s public-health situation after reporting no new infections since October 19 and containing all confirmed cases within a single transmission cluster.
In a diplomatic note dated October 30, the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs urged Riyadh to review its decision to suspend travel by Saudi citizens to Kenya, halt the issuance of visas to Kenyan travellers and bar entry to passengers who have been in Kenya within the preceding 21 days.
The Kenyan government acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s right to protect public health but argued that the blanket restrictions were not supported by the epidemiological evidence available in Kenya.
“The measures against Kenya are disproportionate and not supported by scientific health evidence,” the ministry said in its communication.
Kenya has recorded nine confirmed cases of Bundibugyo virus disease, including two deaths. All cases have been linked to an imported infection involving a Kenyan national who travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda. The eight subsequent infections involved four family members and four healthcare workers who had contact with the initial patient.
Crucially, health authorities have found no evidence of transmission beyond this cluster. The Ministry of Health says all 135 contacts linked to the initial case were traced, with 118 placed under quarantine and monitored.
The first 20 contacts completed their mandatory 21-day monitoring period and were released on October 26. A further 46 contacts are expected to complete monitoring on November 3, provided they remain symptom-free.
Of the seven patients still receiving treatment, five had returned an initial negative test and were awaiting a second test scheduled for November 2. The Ministry expressed optimism that they could be discharged the following day, subject to medical assessment.
The progress has strengthened Kenya’s argument that the Saudi restrictions do not reflect the country’s containment efforts.
In its diplomatic note, Nairobi described the suspension of visas and the exclusion of anyone who had been in Kenya during the previous 21 days as a blanket measure that could penalise the country despite its cooperation with international health authorities.
The restrictions threaten travel for Kenyan workers, religious pilgrims, students and businesspeople, while potentially disrupting tourism and trade relations between the two countries.
Kenya has asked Saudi Arabia’s national focal point to provide the World Health Organisation (WHO) with the scientific justification for measures that significantly interfere with international travel, citing Regulation 43 of the International Health Regulations (2005). It has also called for the restrictions to be reviewed within three months and offered to provide Saudi health authorities with a technical briefing on the outbreak.
The Kenyan position is reinforced by WHO’s October 23 situation report, which advised against restrictions on travel to or trade with affected countries. WHO reported that all eight secondary infections in Kenya were known contacts of the imported case and found no evidence of wider community transmission.
Kenya’s situation must, however, be distinguished from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the outbreak continues to record substantial transmission across multiple provinces.
The government is continuing surveillance and contact monitoring as it approaches the next significant milestone on November 3. The country will still need to meet the required 42-day period without new cases, following the last confirmed case, before it can be declared Ebola-free.
For Kenya’s aviation and travel industry, the dispute highlights the wider economic consequences of health-related travel restrictions. While airlines and travel agencies must observe destination entry requirements, Nairobi’s diplomatic engagement seeks to ensure that precautionary measures reflect the actual epidemiological risk rather than imposing broad restrictions on an entire country.
The government’s message to Riyadh is that Kenya needs international cooperation and recognition of its containment efforts, not isolation.
Source : the-star.co.ke