Kenya confirms one Mpox case, steps up surveillance at border

Health PS Mary Muthoni during a meeting with the Joint committee of the National Assembly and Senate. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

The Ministry of Health has confirmed one suspected case of Mpox and assured the public that the case was treated and has now recovered.

A truck driver was identified by Port health officers with a generalised rash at Taveta One Stop Border Point on July 22, 2024. The individual was reported having symptoms for two weeks prior.

"The patient was isolated at Taveta Sub-County Hospital where clinicians suspected either chickenpox or Mpox," said Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni in a statement Tuesday.

MoH said results from the National Public Health Laboratories detected Mpox on July 29, 2024 and validated by other reference laboratories in the national laboratory network. The patient is now fully recovered.

Owing to the infectiousness of Mpox and international guidelines for response, the Ministry of Health and the County Health Department of Taita Taveta began identifying all persons who had been in close contact with the patient.

Officials say they are tracing close contacts at his workplace, at the hospital where he was admitted and along his travel routes.

Health authorities say the patient had travelled through Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda and are working with neighbouring countries to identify any contacts and any other potential cases. There is an active Mpox outbreak in DRC, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, officials say.

Meanwhile, health officials in Busia have stepped up surveillance at the porous border following the detection of a patient with monkey pox.

Busia Deputy Governor and county executive for Health Arthur Odera said the surveillance with the help of the national government has been intensified along the border.

"After an alert was issued last week on the first case of monkey pox in Taita Taveta County, our health team and that of the national government have been on a high alert along the entry points," he said.

Busia health team has been well equipped to handle the scare and manage any case. "Our health officers are on high alert along the border and they are also well equipped to handle any other threat. We have secured the border that is porous and used by many East and Central African nations for trade," said Odera.

Busia County Director of Universal Health Coverage and acting director of preventive and promotive services Dr David Mukabi said teams have been set up in various border crossing points.

"Our surveillance on monkey-pox has been well advised and residents especially along the lake regions of Busia County have been sensitised," he said.