Ministry of health confirms outbreak of Mpox in the country

Taita Taveta, 

Wednesday, 31 July, 2024 

McCreadie Andias 

In a press statement released on Wednesday, 31 July, 2024, Ministry of Health has confirmed an outbreak of MPox in the Country following a case reported at Taita Taveta. 

The case was confirmed from a person traveling from Uganda to Rwanda through Taita Taveta One-stop border point in Kenya.

The infectionsillness originates from Monkeypox virus where a patient presents signs of fever, skin rash, mucosal lesions,headache, general aches and swollen nymph nodes.

The Ministry has assured the public of advanced measure to cut down risk of transmission by working with County Governments,the Port, Health authorities and other government outlets to enhance surveillance, report cases and disseminate public information on preventive measures to the general public. 

The disease is spread through person - to - person contact of skin or other lesions such as the mouth or genitals and respiratory droplets froms coughs and sneeze where signs occur between two to four weeks of infection. 

A single case of the illness is considered an outbreak due to its highly transmissible ability 

The disease is highly prevent in the east, western and central African region whilst the increased movement of people between Kenya and other East African countries especially the Northern and Central corridors increases the risk factors for transmission.

The illness is healed through confirmatory laboratory tests from skin lesions at Public Health laboratories or other specialized laboratories in the country. 

Kenyans are advised to follow MOH guidelines to protect their families and community from infection by washing their hands with water, soap or hand sanitizers. 

Person's who experience similar symptoms are advised to limit public contact and visit health facilities immediately. 

Kenyans are also warned to avoid contact with persons with suspected ilness or confirmed cases. 

However, the Ministry has urged Kenyans to be keen on differentiating the ilness with other common diseases that may present similar features including chicken pox, measles, bacteria skin infections, scabies,allergic reactions among others.