As the world braces itself for the battle against the deadly coronavirus, a Kenyan, Raphael Ohuru Nyaruaba, who currently resides in Wuhan, China is at the center of the fight against the microbe as reported by Daily Nation on Thursday, January 30.
Nyaruaba, a Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology alumnus, was part of the hundreds of lucky Kenyans sponsored by the Sino-Africa Joint Research Center- a programme aimed at improving scientific research cooperation between Africa and China.
The medical microbiology student interestingly had anticipated being at the center of a health emergency someday.
According to the publication, he has been included in a group of dedicated research practitioners tasked with figuring out ways of containing the virus.
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV) and can be lethal, as described by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The deadly microbe was first confirmed early January in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hebei province, and authorities have been on high alert to prevent further spread of the virus.
Scientists are camped at the Wuhan Institute of Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Nyaruaba in part of the team, working towards resolving the situation.
"I wasn't deployed but I am studying. When asked to help, we all answered the call," Nyaruaba is quoted in the Daily Nation.
Prior to his academic exploits in China, he interned at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) in Nairobi. According to the publication, research on viral detection and isolation (the actual identification of specific strains) is inclusive of his studies.
"Since the outbreak, we have been hands-on, trying to help as much as we can. It is the least we can do," Nyaruaba remarked.
Since it was officially confirmed, Chinese authorities called off departures from the city. Several foreign embassies in the country announced plans to relocate their citizens, while the Kenyan embassy in Beijing stated that it was monitoring the situation to establish the next course of action.
According to the daily, Nyaruaba who also doubles as the vice-president of the Kenyans in Wuhan association, urged Kenyans in the city to reach out and confirm their status.
"We are currently asking Kenyans to always keep us updated about their condition and where they are. So far, most of them are safe," Nyaruaba stated in reference to his compatriots in Wuhan, a majority of them, scientists on scholarship.
Though most of the information on the lab proceedings was classified, Nyaruaba stated that the emergency called for long hours of study and tests on means to curb the virus.
On January 28, a student who had flown back from China and suspected to have contracted the deadly coronavirus was quarantined at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.
The hospital’s Communication Manager Hezekiel Gikambi confirmed that the patient arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Guangzhou after which he was rushed to the facility.
A statement by Kenya Airways revealed that the decision to quarantine the passenger was reached by the Kenya Government port health authorities stationed at the airport.
Reports indicated that the passenger had been cleared to travel by the China Port health authorities at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport after quarantine screening by the health authorities.
CBS News reported that as of 6 a.m January 30, the death toll in China had risen to 132, with more than 5,900 confirmed cases.
Despite several other nations cancelling flights to China, for instance, British Airways suspended flights to Beijing and Shanghai after the UK government advised against non-essential travels to the country, Kenya Airways stated it would not be suspending flights to the Asian country.
In a different scare, construction workers in Karimenu, Gatundu raised concerns that three Chinese nationals who landed in the country on Sunday, January 26, could also have contracted the virus.
The three were expected to resume work at the construction site but were quarantined after they were suspected to have contracted the virus.
"The residents are worried because the three individuals were suspected to be infected by the disease. They do not know if the disease is going to spread around. The workers had been given gas masks and other protective gear to protect them from being infected," a local stated.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), on its Twitter page, reported that various stakeholders had prepared adequately in case there was a transmission of the disease in the country.
"Screening of incoming passengers in place, KNH and KEMRI on standby, personal protection kits available. Additional contingency plans in process," the tweet read in part.
WHO reported that Coronavirus is spread from an infected person to another through the air by coughing and sneezing. It is also spread through close personal contact such as touching or shaking hands, touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands.
Though there are currently no vaccines available to protect against the virus, transmission can be reduced through; washing your hands often with soap and water, avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands and avoiding close contact with a sick person.
