Ebola fears trigger visa denials and airport delays for Kenyan travellers

Over the past three weeks, Kenyan travellers and workers say they have faced visa refusals, lengthy airport scrutiny and instructions to stay away from jobs abroad as some countries respond to Ebola cases recorded in Kenya. The accounts point to restrictions spreading faster than the outbreak itself.

Key facts

• Kenya has confirmed nine Ebola cases, with two deaths and seven patients still in treatment.
• Kenya has imposed no travel or trade restrictions, in line with World Health Organisation recommendations.
• Uganda has barred travellers recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo from transiting and ordered a 21-day quarantine for its own citizens.
• El Salvador denied a visa to a Kenyan journalist, who linked it to a ban on travellers from Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Israel's Ministry of Health has urged immigration authorities to consider a temporary entry ban on non-citizens who visited five regional countries in the past 21 days.
• More than 700,000 travellers have been screened in Kenya, and five laboratories can return Ebola results within hours.

What are travellers and workers reporting?

Travellers and workers who spoke on condition of anonymity described visa rejections, extended checks at airports and instructions to keep away from overseas jobs until further notice. One traveller heading to the United States for a conference said a US airport held her for almost eight hours while staff monitored her for Ebola symptoms before releasing her in the evening.

She said the treatment was being applied indiscriminately to travellers from African countries, including nationals of countries that have recorded no Ebola cases. Some airport officials are also said to be holding travellers from African countries in a room to watch for symptoms.

Three Kenyans employed on cruise ships said their employers told them not to return to work until Kenya is declared Ebola-free. Their ship docked in Mombasa on 10 October, four days after Kenya announced its first Ebola case. It remains unclear whether they will be paid while they wait.

Which countries have taken action?

On Friday, Uganda banned travellers who have recently been in the Democratic Republic of Congo from transiting through its territory, and said its own citizens would be quarantined for 21 days.

CNN's Larry Madowo wrote on LinkedIn that El Salvador had denied his visa application, attributing the decision to a ban on travellers from Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo linked to Ebola concerns. He said citizens of Uganda, Rwanda, Angola, Ethiopia, Burundi and the Central African Republic were also on the list, even though those countries have no cases.

Israel's Ministry of Health has urged immigration authorities to consider imposing a temporary entry ban on non-citizens who have visited Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan or the Democratic Republic of Congo in the past 21 days.

What have Kenyan and US officials said?

Kenya has imposed no restrictions on travel or trade. At the Trust Summit in Nairobi last week, Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni Muriuki said countries that report outbreaks quickly and honestly "must be met with support, not sanctions," warning that fear of bans could tempt governments to delay reporting. She said any problems should be treated as a diplomatic matter for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to raise bilaterally.

US Chargé d'Affaires Susan Burns said Washington and Nairobi held different views on the matter. She said the US travel advisory on Kenya is information for American citizens and does not restrict travel, and that the United States does not stop its own citizens from travelling. Asked about Kenyans travelling to the United States, she said "There are no restrictions other than the normal visa issues."

What is the health situation in Kenya?

The Ministry of Health announced on 23 October that a 65-year-old woman had died, bringing the toll to two among nine confirmed cases; seven patients remain in treatment. All nine cases are linked to one family and care cluster tied to the first patient, and the Ministry says there is no evidence of spread outside it.

Independent pathologist Dr Ahmed Kalebi said Ebola is not airborne and spreads through direct contact with infectious body fluids of symptomatic patients or contaminated materials, and that quarantined contacts are not infectious before developing symptoms. Ebola's incubation period runs from two to 21 days. Prof Shem Otoi of Daystar University said the patients were in very close proximity to the index patient and that there has been no community transmission so far.

What this means for travellers

Travellers from African countries, including those with no Ebola cases, should allow for possible extended screening at airports and should check whether their destination has introduced any visa or entry measures before booking. Kenyan cruise ship staff have been told to wait for a declaration that Kenya is Ebola-free before returning to work.

Under the World Health Organisation's usual practice, an outbreak is declared over only after a set period without new cases. The US official said differences between Nairobi and Washington over the response would continue to be expressed openly.