Kiambu, Kisii counties say they are probing suspected cases of Mpox
Kisii and Kiambu Counties Saturday, August 17, reported they were investigating suspected cases of Mpox, the viral disease caused by the monkeypox virus, and which is spread by contact with infected persons.
In Kiambu, County Health minister Elias Maina said the county had a suspected case, “which is currently under thorough laboratory investigation.”
“We are awaiting the official lab results and will provide a comprehensive update as soon as they are available,” Mr Maina said in a statement, asking the residents not to be alarmed.
He went on: “The County Government, through the Department of Health Services, has activated all necessary measures to ensure the safety and well-being of our residents,” he added.
On the Kiambu case specifically, Dr Sultani Matendechero, the Deputy Director of Health, told Nation.Africa: “We are aware of these and all other suspected cases. All are being investigated as per the protocols. As soon as any new case(s) is (are) confirmed, we shall report accordingly and share the information as required.”
Read: More men get Mpox through sex, WHO reports
In Kisii, public health practitioners are on high alert as they investigate an incident where a woman recorded a suspected case of Mpox at a clinic in the area.
According to Kisii County Public Health Emergency Operation Centre (PHEOC), a woman aged 50 on Thursday evening reported to Dolabs Clinic in Motonto, Bobasi Sub County, showing suspected signs of the viral disease that has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation..
“She presented signs of body itchiness, fever of 37.9 degrees Celsius, headache, general body malaise and rashes (lesions) on the body, face and mouth – including inside the mouth, on the trunk and the genitals,” Kisii County Director of Public Health Richard Onkware said in a statement dated August 16, 2024.
The woman comes from Nyamonde Village of Bomachoge Chache Sub County and has since been advised to self-quarantine at home till laboratory results shall be available.
Dr Onkware said that investigations conducted on the woman included P24 markers.
However, Dr Onkware explained, that the county public health authorities visited the clinic, picked the client’s history but could not take samples from the patient immediately.
“The samples to be collected on Saturday, August 17, 2024 for laboratory diagnosis. The samples could not be collected immediately due to lack of Viral Transport Media (VTMs),” the PHEOC statement reads.
The patient, now at home on supportive management, is a business woman who travels in the Nyanza region’s markets, according to the county health officials.
She had no history of contact with a person who had travelled outside the country but she was recently visited by a partner who lives in Nairobi.
The travel history of her partner was not immediately clear. The team has promised to provide a situational report soon.
If the report turns positive, it would be the second case in Kenya after another was reported earlier.
On Friday, Health Cabinet Secretary Debora Barasa assured the country that there was no active Mpox case in Kenya, and that all the contacts of the first positive case had been traced, tested, and had turned negative, with patient zero also having later tested negative.
The ministry, Dr Barasa said, had also tested six different suspected cases, who also tested negative for the disease. This leaves the only confirmed case of Mpox in the country as the truck driver who was transiting from Uganda to Rwanda, through Kenya, about two weeks ago.
This individual, the ministry said, has made full recovery.
“The Ministry of Health wishes to reassure Kenyans that there is no active case of Mpox disease in the country following the uneventful recovery of the index case that was identified on July 29, 2024. Kenya has reported only one case of Mpox, a person who travelled from Kampala in Uganda to Mombasa, then to Rwanda via Tanzania through Taita Taveta one-stop border point. This individual has since made full recovery and is now well,” said CS Barasa in a statement.
Read: Mpox: Africa’s next vaccine headache
“We have screened 12 persons who came into contact with the index case and another six different suspected cases all of whom have tested negative for the disease. No new confirmed cases of Mpox have been reported in the country since the first confirmed case,” she added.
The announcement come on the heels of an announcement by the WHO to declare Mpox as a public health emergency of international concern, and a declaration by Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) that Mpox is now a public health emergency of continental security.
These two declarations, said CS Barasa, highlight the public health threat posed by the outbreak and the need for an immediate and coordinated international response to control the disease. As part of response measures to combat the outbreak and prevent new cases, CS Barasa said that MOH has heightened surveillance activities across the country, activated the Public Health Emergency Operation Centres and established Incident Management Teams across the country.
“The MOH continues to issue advisories to healthcare workers to sensitize them on Mpox, guide the identification of cases, as well as infection prevention and control measures. Active efforts have been made to sensitize the public and engage communities on risk perception and prevention measures,” she said.
Meanwhile, The Ministry of Health has said that there are no new suspected cases of Mpox in the country. In a statement on Saturday, Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni said that the ministry was monitoring and managing Mpox situation in the country.
“Active surveillance is ongoing across the country including points of entry where, in the last 24 hours, 21,350 travellers have been screened at Points of Entry, with zero (0) suspected Mpox cases detected. The cumulative number of travellers screened to date is 302,436,” said Ms Muthoni.
“Further, over the same period, five (5) new suspected Mpox cases have been detected. Cumulatively, twenty-nine (29) suspected cases have been identified. Of these, twenty-three (23) have tested negative for Mpox, while six (6) cases are pending confirmation from the reference Laboratory. Notably, today we received samples from a suspected Mpox case at Vineyard Hospital in Kiambu County. Currently, the patient is under isolation and management within the County. We will provide timely updates as we receive more information,” she added.
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