Health Ministry Says No Case of Monkeypox Recorded in Kenya

The Ministry of Health says that no cases of Monkeypox have been recorded in Kenya so far.

Health Principal Secretary Susan Mochache assured Kenyans that the government has heightened surveillance at all points of entry in the country, adding that robust and proper response measures have been put in place in Kenya and the East Africa region.

“We have nothing to fear, we are going to use the same surveillance mechanisms we used during Covid-19 to respond to the monkeypox outbreak. We have the capacity to test,” Mochache said on Wednesday.

Over 110 cases of the virus which causes a rash and a fever have been confirmed in 16 countries in Europe, the Americas, and Australia, with the number expected to rise. Experts say the overall risk to the broader population is very low.

Reports indicate that the first patient in the current outbreak had returned to the UK from Nigeria where monkeypox is endemic, but cases are now spreading among people who have not traveled to the west or central Africa where the virus is most common. Most cases in the current outbreak have been in young men.

Monkeypox usually spreads by close contact and respiratory droplets, but sexual transmission (via semen and/or vaginal fluid) has been cited as an additional possible route. 

Patients exhibit flu-like symptoms such as fever, headaches, aching muscles, and swollen lymph nodes. Once the fever breaks, a rash can develop, often beginning on the face before spreading to other parts of the body.

Although Monkeypox is considered a mild, self-limiting disease lasting two to three weeks, it can cause death in some cases. The fatality rate “in recent times” has been around 3% to 6%, according to World Health Organisation (WHO).