Nairobi - XINHUA
Kenya Airways has assured its customers that its flights from West Africa are safe amid fears that passengers from the region could transmit the deadly Ebola virus.
Kenya Airways Head of Medical and Occupational Health, Jane Munyi said passengers from effected countries are being subjected to thorough screening at the airport. The national carrier flies 44 times a week to 10 West Africa cities.
"Our crew members have also been supplied and trained on the use of universal precaution kits to ensure that they do not come into contact with body fluids while carrying out their duties," the airline said in a statement on Thursday.
The move comes as the spread of Ebola is yet to be declared an epidemic and no travel ban to affected regions has been recommended.
Munyi said the airport will continuously monitor updates from the World Health Organization and the International Air Transport Association on the disease, its spread and for guidelines on recommended actions.
The virus spread only through body fluids and infected persons at that stage of infection were unlikely to travel, she added.
The Ebola virus has killed more than 600 people since it first emerged this year in Guinea. Cases have also been reported in Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
While there is no specific drug against Ebola, WHO says the best treatment is intensive supportive treatment provided in the hospital by health workers using strict infection control procedures.