Kenya reports a second case of Mpox

Health PS Mary Muthoni informed the Nation that Kenya has confirmed its second case of mp in a truck driver who was crossing the border from Uganda.

As for the epicentre of the disease, the driver said he had recently visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In one of our medical institutions in Busia County, the patient has been isolated and is under active management, according to a Ministry of Health release.

The truck driver presented himself with illness symptoms at the Malaba One Stop Boarder Post Port Health screening station.

According to Deborah Barasa, the health care specialist, 42 samples have been tested for mpox thus far; 40 of those samples have come back negative.

“Moreover, at our numerous ports of entry across the nation, we have screened a total of 426,438 travelers,” she continued.

Approximately three weeks have passed since the nation’s first case of the viral illness was verified at the Taita Taveta border crossing with Tanzania.

A long-distance truck driver was also involved in the initial incident. At the time, the Health Ministry said he was traveling through Kenya to get from Uganda to Rwanda.

Impasse at the Ministry

A reported impasse over who should be in charge of making the information public available to the public has caused the announcement to be postponed, according to PS Mary Muthoni of Public Health and Dr. Patrick Amoth, Director General of Health.

Senior ministry officials said they are now unsure of who to report to. They asked to remain anonymous since they are not allowed to speak to the media.

“We had to wait until PS Muthoni and Dr. Amoth reached a consensus on who we should report to, despite the truck driver’s positive findings being received yesterday night.

The senior official disclosed that CS Barasa is handling the impasse resolution.

“We expect the CS to give us a clear direction.”

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus, according to the Department of Public Health and Professional Standards.

“Patients present with rash or mucosal lesions, fever, headache, generalised aches and swollen lymph nodes.”

Direct contact with infected skin or other lesions, such those on the mouth or genitalia, can result in person-to-person transmission of Mpox, according to the Ministry, which also mentioned respiratory droplets as a possible means of transmission.

“The endemic areas of East, Central, and West Africa with forests are home to mpx cases. An international pandemic spanning multiple countries has been going since May 2022, with peak cases in August 2022 and June–November 2023. A few weeks ago, PS Muthoni declared, “One case of Mpox is considered an outbreak.”

She emphasized that since other East African nations are already reporting cases, there is a major danger of regional transmission due to the high degree of population movement between Kenya and these other nations, particularly along the northern and central transport routes.

The PS went on to say that laboratory testing using skin lesions are used to confirm the diagnosis of Mpox.

“These tests can be done at the National Public Health Laboratory and other specialised laboratories in the country,” she explained.