Five new cases of Mpox virus have been recorded in the
country this week
The Health Ministry in a statement on Saturday said two of the five new cases were recorded among children below the age of five years.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 23.
According to the ministry, the five new cases were recorded in Nakuru (2), Mombasa (2) and Kiambu (1).
“We would like to emphasise that children are among the high-risk groups because their immune system is not fully developed to fight infections,” Public Health PS Mary Muthoni said.
"The ministry therefore underscores the importance of self-isolation among the suspected and confirmed cases to avoid passing the infection to children in our households as they are at risk of severe disease if they get infected,” she advised.
Overall, the 23 cases are spread across the various counties as follows; Nakuru (six), Mombasa (four), Nairobi Kajiado and Bungoma have recorded two cases each while Kiambu, Busia, Makueni, Kericho, Taita Taveta, Uasin Gishu and Kilifi each have recorded one case.
Muthoni said four individuals are currently under management while 16 have fully recovered.
To date, 156 contacts have been identified, with 117 completing the required 21-day follow-up.
Muthoni said a total of 2,023,819 travellers have been screened at various points of entry with 12,257 having been screened in the last 24 hours.
“We wish to highlight the importance of adhering to Mpox preventive measures among suspected cases, confirmed Mpox cases and the general public,” Muthoni said.
