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By James Ratemo
One case of the dreaded Swine Flu has been reported in the country.
Briefing the press on Monday at her Afya House offices, Health Minister Beth Mugo described the H1N1 victim as a British medical student who jetted into the country last week.
The 20- year-old British medical student currently in Kisumu has been confirmed to have contracted the dreaded Swine Flu. He becomes the first case in the country.
Mugo said the Government has already stocked 50,000 doses of TAMIFLU drug to treat the disease.
"Since this confirmation, my officers have been monitoring the student. His condition is stable and does not require hospitalisation," said Mugo.
He was among a group of 34 British students who travelled from the United Kingdom and are currently in Kisumu undertaking field studies.
To curb possible widespread of the flu, the government quarantined the whole group of 30 students staying in a section of a Kisumu hotel.
The students entered Kenya on June 21, via Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and travelled to Kisumu by bus.
With this confirmation, Kenya joins South Africa, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Cape Verde as countries hit by the dreaded flu in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
Fears have been rife since Saturday when a 20-year-old Kenyan woman, who studies in London, visited a private health clinic in the Nairobi on Friday displaying symptoms of H1N1 flu.
However, the nation sighed in relief when medical test results proved negative.
"Rumours have been circulating causing a lot of panic, we want to confirm that there is no swine flu cases so far reported in the country, that was a false alert. We assure the public we are in control and well prepared to tackle any possible outbreak," Mugo said on Saturday.
South Africa last week became the first sub-Saharan African country to confirm a case of swine flu. Since then, Ethiopia, the Ivory Coast and Cape Verde have reported cases.
The World Health Organization says many African nations are particularly vulnerable due to poor health care systems, poverty and the presence of other respiratory illnesses, such as tuberculosis and Asthma.
According to the WHO's latest figures, released on Friday, there have been 59,814 cases of swine flu and 263 deaths worldwide.
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