US urges Americans to reconsider travel to Kenya amid Ebola spread

The US state department said on Monday it has asked Americans to reconsider any travel to Kenya and raised its travel advisory for the East African nation due to health risks.

“The level was changed from Level 2 to Level 3 due to health risks,” the travel advisory by the US embassy in Kenya said.

The level 3 notification asks Americans to reconsider travel, from an earlier level 2 that urges increased caution.

“Reconsider travel to Kenya due to risk of health, crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and traffic safety. Some areas have increased risk,” the advisory read.

Kenya confirmed one more Ebola case on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to eight.

Kenya has been on heightened alert, as a major Ebola outbreak centred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has spread across borders in the region.

The DRC confirmed on Sunday that its outbreak had spread to an eighth province, North Ubangi, underscoring concerns about wider regional transmission.

“Medical services in Kenya are limited. They are often unavailable in rural areas. Medical facilities in Kenya often lack sufficient medicine and equipment,” the US travel advisory on Kenya said in its summary.