One Mpox patient dies

By Peter Ochieng

The country has recorded the first death from the Mpox virus disease. According to Dr Patrick Amoth, Director General in the Ministry of Health, the patient died because he was battling existing health complications.

So far, Amoth added, the country has recorded 13 cases of the disease.

"Eight of those have recovered and have gone home, four are still admitted in hospital," he said. The cases, he stated, were detected from 236 samples that were tested in laboratories, with the cases being confirmed in 10 counties.

The counties include Nakuru (2), Kajiado (2), Taita Taveta, Busia, Mombasa, Bungoma, Kericho, Kilifi and Nairobi. The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed the first case of Mpox on July 31, 2024.

The case was confirmed at the Taita-Taveta One-Stop Border Point (OSBP). The patient was travelling from Uganda to Rwanda through Kenya.

Earlier, Nairobi Review reported that Kenya on Monday received Mpox testing kits and medicines for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) from the World Health Organization (WHO), USAID, and other health partners, MOH.

The consignment includes 15,215,000 tablets of NTD medicines valued at USD 1.6 million, that will help the country ramp up the fight against Mpox.

Speaking during the handover at Afya house, Health CS Deborah Barasa acknowledged the donors in ensuring essential medicines reach those most in need.

The consignment, she noted, will put Kenya at par with the rest of the countries in the fight against Mpox.

The consignment is intended for the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) process, to be rolled out in the course of this month, targeting areas with the highest disease burden.

CS Barasa highlighted the significance of MDA campaigns in controlling NTDs particularly in high-burden regions.

On his part, WHO Representative to Kenya, Dr. Abdourahmane Diallo who confirmed the consignment, reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to supporting Kenya’s goal of eliminating NTDs by 2030.

Last week, members of the National Taskforce for Mpox control emphasised the importance of proper coordination among all stakeholders, to effectively prevent its spread.