NAIROBI, Oct 3 (NNN-KBC) – Kenya’s Ministry of Health, yesterday, confirmed one more mpox case, raising the total count in the country to nine, as the government strengthened public health response to the disease.
Deborah Barasa, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Health, said in a statement, released in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, that, the case had been confirmed in Nakuru, some 160 km north-west of the capital.
“The new case is a male aged 37, who travelled to Rwanda and Uganda,” Barasa said, noting that, “no deaths have been reported among the confirmed cases.”
She added that, the ministry’s surveillance efforts remain robust and had tracked 68 contacts, among whom 61 had been monitored for the recommended 21 days.
Barasa revealed that the ministry had cumulatively screened nearly 1.13 million travellers, at 26 points of entry.
She called for vigilance, noting, it is key to protecting communities from the spread of the disease.
According to Barasa, the ministry has intensified surveillance, risk communication and community engagement, to combat stigma and curb infections.
Barasa noted on Tuesday that, the ministry is working to secure mpox vaccines for high-risk populations.
The vaccines are expected to arrive in the country in Dec, as Kenya is one of the five African nations set to receive 50,000 doses of mpox vaccine, as part of the World Health Organisation-led global efforts, to prevent the spread of the disease.
Besides Kenya, other African countries with mpox cases include the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Cameroon, Liberia, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda, South Africa, Guinea, Gabon and Rwanda.– NNN-KBC
