- PS Muthoni said the ministry’s antennae had been raised with surveillance heightened at boarder points.
- MoH said the patient code-named ‘patient zero’ was travelling from Uganda to Rwanda through Kenya.
Public Health PS Mary Muthoni on Tuesday said the first patient to contract Mpox has recovered.
Image: THE STAR
The Ministry of Health says the patient who had contracted Mpox has recovered.
In an update issued Tuesday afternoon by Public Health and Professional Standards PS Mary Muthoni, the patient had been under close scrutiny and treatment with ministry officials studying the case and its infectious rate.
Speaking at the Ministry of Health (MoH) headquarters in Nairobi, PS Muthoni said the ministry’s antennae had been raised with surveillance heightened at boarder points, especially on those from Congo where the disease originated.
“Due to the infectiousness of Mpox and as per international guidelines for Mpox response, the Ministry of Health and the county health department of Taita Taveta began identifying all persons that had been in close contact with the patient. We are tracing all his close contacts at his work place, at the hospital where he was admitted and along his travel route,” PS Muthoni said.
She was flanked by technical officials dealing with Mpox in the country.
The Ministry of Health confirmed the first case of Mpox in Kenya on July 31.
The case was reported at the Taita-Taveta one-stop border point.
MoH said the patient code-named ‘patient zero’ was travelling from Uganda to Rwanda through Kenya.
Mpox (formerly monkeypox) is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus.
Symptoms manifest as skin rashes or mucosal lesions, fever, headache, generalised aches and swollen lymph nodes.
Person-to-person transmission of Mpox can occur through direct contact with infectious skin or other lesions such as in the mouth or on the genitals.
Mpox is endemic in the forested areas of East, Central and West Africa with the Democratic Republic of Congo considered a hotspot.
According to Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention data, about 8,479 cases and 401 deaths from Mpox have been recorded since January 2024.
In noting the recovery of patient zero, the ministry insisted on a raft of measures to be adhered to in order to tame the spread of the disease.
"We have issued an advisory to all counties and all points of entry at the airports, seaports, and ground crossing points outlining how healthcare workers can detect cases through signs and symptoms. The border points should pay attention to travellers originating from or transiting from affected countries," Muthoni said on Monday.