SAD : Ebola fears lead to bans in Kenya

Kenya Airways will suspend flight operations to Liberia and
Sierra Leone, the latest airline to curb flights because of the
ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The suspension is
temporary, and the airline will continue operating flights to
Nigeria and Ghana, Kenya Airways said.
The Kenyan government announced other restrictions, saying it
is temporarily suspending entry into Kenya of passengers who
have passed through Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
Health professionals and Kenyan citizens returning home from
those countries will be the exceptions, but will have to undergo
extensive screening and close monitoring, said James
Macharia, Cabinet secretary of the Kenya Ministry of Health.
The measures come as the World Health Organization warned
this week that the magnitude of the Ebola crisis in West Africa
is "vastly" underestimated.
Ebola has infected at least 2,127 people in Nigeria, Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone since the outbreak began this year.
Of the victims, 1,145 have died as of Wednesday, according
to the WHO.
"The outbreak is expected to continue for some time," the
WHO said in a statement this week. "Staff at the outbreak
sites see evidence that the numbers of reported cases and
deaths vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak."
Though the United Nations agency did not provide an estimate
of unreported cases, it said it's teaming up with the affected
countries to gather more intelligence from the ground.
It's also working with other agencies, including the World Food
Program, to feed about 1 million people quarantined in
villages in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
As experts scramble to contain the outbreak, health officials
are considering the use of experimental treatments and
vaccines, since no there is no proven cure for the deadly virus.
Ebola spreads through contact with organs and bodily fluids
such as blood, saliva, urine and other secretions of infected
people. It causes viral hemorrhagic fever, which affects multiple
organ systems.
Early symptoms include sudden onset of fever, weakness,
muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat. They later progress
to vomiting, diarrhea, impaired kidney and liver function, and
sometimes internal and external bleeding.
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