Kenya on high alert after second case of Mpox

The Ministry of Health on Friday confirmed a second case of Mpox in Kenya, sparking renewed concerns about the spread of the disease within the country.

The second patient is also a male truck driver. He was screened at the Malaba One Stop Border Post in Busia county, Health CS Deborah Mulongo said in a statement.

 The patient, who has a history of travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area currently battling a significant Mpox outbreak, is now in isolation and receiving treatment at a health facility in Busia.

The announcement comes nearly a month after Kenya reported its first case of Mpox on July 31, 2024.

"Since the declaration of the first case of Mpox, 28 contacts of the said case have completed a 21-day follow-up period without developing symptoms. They have been discharged from active follow-up," the CS said. 

Mulongo said, "our health facilities are adequately staffed and well-equipped to diagnose and manage this disease, and therefore its identification should not be a cause for alarm."

She said the ministry has ramped up surveillance efforts, particularly in Busia and other regions with high volumes of cross-border travel.

The ministry noted that 42 samples have been submitted for Mpox testing, with 40 samples returning negative results.

Additionally, 426,438 travellers have been screened at various ports of entry across the country since the onset of the outbreak.

"Active surveillance for suspected cases has been enhanced in the region and across all counties to ensure disease spread is controlled," Dr Mulongo said.

The ministry also reiterated the importance of adhering to public health measures to prevent the spread.

The ministry's recommendations include regular handwashing with soap and running water, using alcohol-based hand sanitisers, practicing good hygiene, and avoiding close contact with individuals displaying Mpox symptoms.

The announcement comes as Kenya prepares for Mpox vaccinations at the end of the year.

On Monday, Health director general Patrick Amoth said Kenya will receive 2 million doses from the Denmark-based Nordic manufacturing company by December.

“But the vaccine will not be  for everybody because of the scarcity in terms of availability. We will prioritise the population to be put at the forefront,” Amoth said.

Separately, the World Health Organization said it expected countries that reported an outbreak to “initiate plans to advance Mpox vaccination activities. This is in the context of outbreak response in areas with incident cases, targeting people at high risk of infection.”

It also asked the countries to convene national immunisation technical advisory groups and prepare national policy mechanisms to apply for vaccines from Gavi or other bodies.

“These temporary recommendations are issued to states parties experiencing the upsurge of Mpox, including, but not limited to, the DRC and Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda,” said the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee on Mpox 2024, appointed by the WHO.

DRC, which has recorded 16,700 confirmed or suspected cases of Mpox, including more than 570 deaths, will receive its vaccines next week.

Its Health minister Samuel Kamba said they would need 3.5 million doses and that Japan and the United States had pledged some.

The strain spreading in the country is the more deadly Clade 1b.

Kenya reported its sole case on July 31. The patient was a 42-year-old long-distance truck driver, who lives in Kinoo, Kiambu county.

He had travelled from Kampala to Mombasa on July 12. He was travelling to Tanzania at the time of detection at the Taveta border crossing.

Testing of all suspected cases is currently being conducted at the Ministry of Health National Public Health laboratories  in collaboration with partner institutions such as Kemri.

The disease primarily affects children, and data show an aggregated case fatality rate of 3.6 per cent.

The outbreak is sustained largely, but not exclusively, through transmission linked to sexual contact and amplified in networks associated with commercial sex and sex workers.