Kenya has not recorded any new case of Mpox since the first one was reported, Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa has said.
The first case was reported last month from a person who travelled from Kampala, Uganda to Mombasa, then to Rwanda via Tanzania through Taita Taveta one stop border point.
Giving an update on Mpox in the country, CS Barasa said that the individual has since made full recovery.
“We have 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,” the Health CS said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the mpox outbreak in parts of Africa a public health emergency of international concern.
The highly contagious disease – formerly known as monkeypox – has killed at least 450 people during an initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It has now spread across parts of central and east Africa, and scientists are concerned about how fast a new variant of the disease is spreading and its high fatality rate.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond “is very worrying”.
“A co-ordinated international response is essential to stop this outbreak and save lives,” he said.
Mpox is transmitted through close contact, such as sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.
It causes flu-like symptoms, skin lesions and can be fatal, with four in 100 cases leading to death.
