CNN
By Larry Madowo, Lauren Kent, Nimi Princewill, CNN
Nairobi (CNN) — The plan to launch this week a health facility in Kenya for Americans who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus has received widespread criticism – from both Kenyan doctors and US officials working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The main doctors’ union in Kenya and the Law Society of Kenya told CNN they oppose the plan, saying it risks importing Ebola into the East African nation, which has no cases as of Thursday.
Meanwhile in the United States, CDC officials strongly recommended against the plan to send Americans to Kenya, with the agency’s acting director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, also reportedly advising against it, according to a CDC source working on the Ebola response operations.
Some officers at the agency “are furious about it” and believe the plan “will make recruiting and staffing for Ebola response activities harder,” the CDC source told CNN.
Although the CDC source noted that there are “very proficient colleagues in Kenya,” they also said “it’s hard to imagine the standard of care will be able to meet that of the treatment facilities that have been developed at great cost over many years in the US. Let alone the aspects of wanting to be repatriated and closer to family, other supportive services, etc.”
CNN has reached out to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the CDC, for comment.
A Trump administration official previously told CNN that “treatment capabilities at the facility are expected to be able to care for the full spectrum of Ebola Virus Disease, including critical care needs, though each case will be evaluated for forward transport for more advanced care as appropriate in order to maximize patient outcomes.”
The outbreak, which is centered in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is believed to have caused at least 238 deaths and more than 1,000 suspected infections so far, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Driven by the Bundibugyo strain, a rare form of Ebola for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, the virus has also crossed into neighboring Uganda, which has reported at least seven cases associated with the outbreak, including one death.
Doctors demand transparency on Ebola facility deal
A senior Trump administration official said Thursday that the US has received approval from the Kenyan government for isolation and quarantine units on its soil. However, the Kenyan government has yet to officially comment on the deal.
A 50-bed quarantine unit will be operational as of Friday, another senior administration official said. It will be located on the Laikipia Airbase, about 125 miles north of Nairobi. As of Thursday, no patients are set to go to the unit.
Additional isolation and biocontainment units will be available at the site later; if someone develops symptoms or tests positive, they will be evacuated to other facilities, a senior official said. The CDC and Department of State are working to determine where in Europe those facilities will be located.
Care will be provided by officers of the Commissioned Corps of the US Public Health Service, who have already departed for Kenya. Around 30 officers received three days of training this week, a senior official said and more will be trained this weekend. Although there are no approved medications specifically