Why the Ebola virus is not a risk for tourists coming to Kenya

A map showing the distance between Ebola-hit countries in West Africa and "safari countries" in east and southern Africa. PHOTO | COURTESY | SAFARI BOOKINGS

What you need to know:

  1. Nairobi is 5,312 kilometres from the outbreak area, further than some destinations in Europe and South America.
  2. Kenya Airways suspended its operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone in August this year.

Here are five facts about Kenya in the wake of Ebola outbreak in West Africa that tourists need to know:

1. Kenya is far away from West Africa (the outbreak area)

Nairobi is 5,312 kilometres from the outbreak area, further than some destinations in Europe and South America are from West Africa. Paris, for instance, is 4,627 kilometres from the outbreak area.
2. The prime airline, Kenya Airways, has no direct flight to any West African country

Kenya Airways suspended its operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone in August this year after a risk assessment by the country’s Ministry of Health. The airline maintained operations in Nigeria and Ghana but noted that should the situation warrant, it would cancel more flights to the West African region.

3. Kenya has set up precautionary measures at border points

A medical team is at the airports and boarder points where those coming into the country are checked for Ebola virus symptoms. Isolation rooms have also been established at the entry points to act on any suspicious case.

4. No country has issued an Ebola-related travel warning against Kenya
Government travel advisories are responsible for warning their citizens against travel-related risks. If there was an increased or significant Ebola risk in Kenya, they would have included it in their travel advice.

5. There is no single case of Ebola in the country
The outbreak began in December 2013, and since then the country has had a few suspected cases of people coming in from affected regions, but all of them have turned out to be negative.