Kenya Increases Surveillance Following First Case Involving Truck Driver Travelling from Uganda

Kenya’s Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that, following the confirmation of the nation’s first case of mpox early this week, it has increased nationwide surveillance.

The confirmed case, involving a long-distance truck driver who traveled from Kampala, to Mombasa, and then to Rwanda via Taita Taveta in southeast Kenya and Tanzania, is being closely monitored, according to the Ministry of Health, which stated that no new cases of mpox have been reported in Kenya.

The truck driver has now returned to Kenya, which has prompted a thorough contact tracing effort, according to a statement released in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, by Mary Muthoni, principal secretary in the Ministry of Health.

To find any potential new cases and stop the spread of the disease, the ministry is following the truck driver’s close contacts throughout his domestic travel route.

According to Muthoni, the ministry is also keeping an eye on how outbreaks are developing in nearby nations in order to evaluate the likelihood of regional transmissions and modify response strategies as necessary.

Additionally, the ministry has made emergency hotline numbers available to the public so they can report suspected instances and inquire further about the outbreak.

According to Muthoni, the ministry has sent out a rapid reaction team to assist the impacted counties by conducting in-depth inquiries and implementing the required measures.

According to her, nationwide public health emergency operation centers have been triggered to oversee and synchronize the handling of the mpox outbreak.

Counties in Kenya are urged to inform the public about the epidemic, the required precautions, and what to do in the event that they become ill. Important preventive actions include getting early treatment, avoiding close contact with sick people, and often washing your hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer, according to Muthoni.

The ministry stated that mpox, also known as monkeypox, is indigenous to wooded regions of East, Central, and West Africa. It also stated that a global outbreak of mpox, which peaked in August 2022 and continued from June to November 2023, has been continuing since May 2022.