Nairobi — The Ministry of Health on Thursday confirmed one more case of Monkeypox (Mpox) leading the total tally of the cases detected in Kenya since an outbreak in the region to nine.
The new case, a male truck driver aged 37, is suspected to have caught the virus while traveling from Rwanda and to Uganda. MoH surveillance team in Nakuru detected the case
"We urge all the citizens to observe the following prevention methods, one to avoid close physical contact with invented individuals or persons showing symptoms of Monkeypox (Mpox) and to wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use alcohol -based sanitizer," MoH stated.
The ministry indicated its teams had screened approximately 15,541 travelers within 24 hours bringing the total number of individuals screened to 1,128,976 across 26 different points of entry.
The National Public Health Laboratory has received and tested 227 samples with the 9 confirmed positive cases.
MoH said its teams had reported no death from Mpox.
The government projects to spend Sh6.7 billion in an Mpox containment plan styled as a three-tier response level system.
Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni said a National Mpox Preparedness and Response Plan was in place to guide a coordinated public health action to stop a monkeypox (Mpox ) outbreak in Kenya.
MoH will spend Sh1.7 billion on local containment measures according to official projections.
The ministry will spend the funds on community-based surveillance, capacity building of health workers, provision of assorted PPEs, sanitation supplies, enhancing screening and putting up temporary isolation spaces and referral of cases.
Afya House will spend an additional Sh2.3 billion combating regional spread with a projected Sh941 million expenditure on training of health workers as well as Sh232 million spending on the procurement of equipment and treatment commodities.
About The Author