The Ministry of Health (MOH) has assured the country of robust surveillance systems that have been heightened at every point of entry into the country to ensure the safety of the citizens from the outbreak of monkeypox disease.
Speaking to the press at Agricultural Training Center (ATC) on the outskirts of Kisii town, Principal Secretary (PS) for Health Susan Mochache stated that monkeypox is prevalent in the Western region and has caused fear due to the first outbreak in Europe.
“I want to assure the public that we have nothing to worry about so far. We have no reported case of monkeypox in Kenya nor do we have it reported anywhere in East Africa,” added Mochache.
She noted that the Ministry has put in place proper response measures in the event monkeypox enters the country saying that they are well positioned because the same teams used to respond to Covid 19 would be reactivated.
The PS said that monkeypox is transmitted through close contact with the infected person or animal adding that touching clothing or beddings that are contaminated could also lead to an infection.
“Within a period of one to seven days, you will start experiencing a rash and the next thing you will be feeling is a fever, some muscle ache, and it will present itself like chicken pox but slightly bigger and are painful but not itchy,” she explained.
Mochache added that the Ministry could test where they suspect any case, noting that they would use the response mechanism that has been successfully used for Covid 19 for monkeypox.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 92 monkeypox cases have been confirmed and investigations are ongoing on 28 suspected cases that are not endemic to the monkeypox virus across three regions with no associated deaths reported to date.
By Lilian Ondeyo
