The Ministry of Health has issued an update on the Mpox outbreak in the country.
The first patient who was a truck driver was identified on July 22, 2024, along the Taveta One Stop Border Point.
“The patient was isolated at Taveta Sub-County Hospital where the clinicians suspected either chickenpox or Mpox. Skin lesion samples were taken. Results from the National Public Health Laboratories detected Mpox on July 29, 2024. This was validated by other reference laboratories in the national laboratory network,” PS Muthoni explained.
Besides recording the positive news, the ministry has launched a drive to identify all the people he interacted with.
With the disease being highly infectious, the Ministry of Health indicated that it has started tracing all his close contacts at his workplace, at the hospital where he was admitted and along his travel routes.
“The patient has travelled through Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. So, we are working with our neighbouring countries to identify any contacts and any other potential cases. There is an active mpox outbreak in DRC, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda,” the Ministry of Health stated.
Other response measures the Ministry of Health has continued to undertake include:
“The ministry is working closely with the County Government authorities and all relevant partners to ensure all necessary interventions are put in place to protect citizens from the outbreak.”
