Govt upgrades National Infectious Diseases Centre and Laboratory

Health Cabinet Secretary (CS), Aden Duale, has reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to strengthening national preparedness and response to public health emergencies during a joint inspection visit to the Kenya National Public Health Institute (KNPHI) and the Infectious Diseases Unit at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) accompanied by the United States Chargé d’Affaires to Kenya, Ms. Susan M. Burns.

The visit assessed the country’s capacity to detect, prevent and respond to public health threats, with particular focus on Ebola preparedness, while reviewing ongoing investments that are strengthening Kenya’s public health systems and advancing KNPHI’s transformation into a world-class public health institution.

Duale disclosed that the Government’s plan to establish a modern 200-bed National Infectious Diseases Centre that will integrate diagnosis, treatment, isolation, surveillance, research and training under one roof are progressing well.

“This facility will strengthen Kenya’s ability to respond to infectious disease outbreaks while supporting the management of communicable diseases, including HIV and tuberculosis, and position the country as a regional center of excellence for infectious disease prevention, preparedness and response,” he explained.

At KNPHI, the delegation reviewed key investments supported by the United States Government, including the renovation of the National Virology Laboratory, construction of a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) Central Laboratory, deployment of two mobile laboratories, enhancement of laboratory information management systems, laboratory capacity mapping, and continued support for HIV and tuberculosis reference testing services.

These investments, according to the CS, have strengthened disease surveillance, laboratory diagnosis and outbreak response across the country.

In addition, KNPHI now hosts four national reference laboratories supporting surveillance and rapid diagnosis of priority diseases, including HIV, tuberculosis and emerging public health threats.

Equally, Duale pointed out that the two mobile laboratories have significantly improved frontline outbreak response by reducing laboratory turnaround time from several days to between six and eight hours.

“To date, they have processed 173 Ebola samples, all of which tested negative, including 38 from Busia and 35 from Lwakhakha, enabling timely public health action and strengthening national health security,” Duale revealed.

Further, the delegation also inspected the eight-bed Infectious Diseases Unit at Kenyatta National Hospital, a critical component of Kenya’s preparedness framework for highly infectious diseases.

The unit has managed 58 suspected Ebola cases, all of which tested negative, and is supported by 38 healthcare workers specially trained in the management of highly infectious diseases.

Meanwhile, the Health CS noted that continued investment in KNPHI, laboratory systems and infectious disease preparedness remains essential to building a resilient health system capable of preventing, detecting and responding rapidly to public health emergencies while protecting the health of all Kenyans.

Duale was accompanied by Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Dr. Ouma Oluga, Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards, Ms. Mary Muthoni, KNPHI Board Chairperson, Paul Kariuki, U.S. CDC Kenya Country Director Ms. Jennifer Galbraith, DPH-K Chairperson Brian Rettman, Kenyatta National Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Richard Lesiyampe, and officials from the Ministry of Health and the United States Government.

By Michael Omondi