Kenya has provided written approval to the United States to establish a quarantine facility in the East African nation for American citizens exposed to the Ebola outbreak centred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two US officials said on Thursday.

The proposed facility, expected to be located at a military site in central Kenya, would be used to monitor and isolate US citizens who may have been exposed to the virus while in the region.

The development comes as the Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo intensifies, with neighboring Uganda also reporting a rise in confirmed infections.

Health authorities across the region are stepping up surveillance and coordination efforts as concern grows over cross-border transmission.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has also increased support for laboratory testing and outbreak response operations in affected areas.

In Kenya, the proposed US facility has sparked public debate, with some residents voicing concern over the country hosting quarantine operations linked to the outbreak.

"I kind of feel like that's a little bit off and not a bit fair for the host, like us being a host, like why would you create a facility within my country and it doesn't serve me,” said Nairobi resident, Serah Njoroge.

Another Nairobi resident said the facility should serve everyone in Kenya, and not just US citizens.

"Why do Americans think that their lives are so much important than the lives of Kenyans so that they establish a facility in Kenya that is made for only Americans, if they must be allowed to open that facility here, then it must be a facility that serves every human being in Kenya," Robert Kiberenge said.

The Ebola outbreak has strained health systems in the central and east African region, with humanitarian agencies warning that insecurity, displacement and limited access to affected areas are complicating containment efforts.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this week designated 10 countries in the region to be at high risk of an outbreak owing to their proximity to the DR Congo.

The countries include South Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya, Zambia, the Central African Republic, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, and Burundi.