US troops deployed in Kenya over Ebola
CAPTION: Kenya police battel with protestors in Laikipia, Kenya over the construction of the temporary isolation unit for Ebola recently. (File photo).
By Agencies
STUTTGART, Germany — U.S. troops have been dispatched to central Kenya to help build an Ebola quarantine facility in connection with a push to contain a major outbreak of the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The effort in Kenya is part of a $220 million whole-of-government response led by the U.S. State Department, a U.S. official said Friday June 12th,2024 in an emailed statement to Stars and Stripes. U.S. Africa Command deployed the personnel to Laikipia, Kenya, to establish a temporary isolation unit for Ebola, according to the statement.
“Personnel include medical, engineer, communications, security and contract planners,” said the statement, without detailing how many service members are involved. The U.S. military will not provide any frontline medical care, it added, saying the military is using its rapid-response logistics capabilities to support other U.S. government agencies.
“AFRICOM is not involved in other activities regarding Ebola, however the command remains postured to support tasking if and when directed,” the official said. While the U.S. military’s current role in the Ebola response is limited, AFRICOM played a central role in Operation United Assistance, a 2014 mission that supported efforts to contain an Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
Some 3,000 U.S. troops, including from the 101st Airborne Division, were deployed in that effort, which involved delivering supplies and building temporary hospitals.
International health agencies are contending with a major Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where more than 600 people have died since May. The virus has spread into Uganda, killing at least 19 people as of Friday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The United States has put various travel restrictions in place for people attempting to come to the U.S. from the affected areas. In the case of U.S. citizens, they must undergo enhanced public health screening before being allowed to enter the United States, according to the CDC.
The U.S. embassy in Kenya said in a statement last week a bio-isolation facility in Laikipia is “part of a holistic response to prevent spread of the disease and lessen health risks for the region as a whole.”
“Expanding regional capacity to isolate and test asymptomatic individuals, including Americans working on the response effort, will enhance Kenya’s readiness and preserve Kenya’s existing clinical resources to assist Kenyan citizens,” the statement said.
Still, the situation has sparked protests in Kenya where people have taken issue with a U.S. government plan to send Americans exposed to the Ebola virus to Kenya before sending them home to the United States.
The New York Times on Wednesday reported ongoing discussions between Kenya and the U.S. on how the quarantine facility would function. However, State Department officials told the Times that the plan called for transporting Americans to the facility.
Ebola is a deadly viral disease that spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea and bleeding.
The World Health Organization says some outbreaks have killed more than half of those infected.
