By Dorothy Musyoka
Mary Muthoni, Principal Secretary for Health and Professional Standards, has called for calm in the wake of reported cases of Mpox in the country.
Speaking during her visit to Kirinyaga, where she met with Community Health Promoters (CHPs), Muthoni reassured the public that the Ministry of Health is taking all necessary measures to manage the situation effectively.
Muthoni revealed that the ministry has deployed surveillance teams to all 32 entry points nationwide. These teams are on standby to handle any potential cases of Mpox, ensuring rapid response and containment.
“We have deployed our health team also to TaitaTaveta where that was identified and we are waiting for response every other time, we are doing contact tracing on the same, and equally we are waiting for any suspected case to be reported so that we can respond,” stated PS Muthoni.
Currently, one individual is under quarantine, and efforts are underway to trace and test all contacts.
“We have already isolated the person, we are trying to trace how many people he had, we have quarantined the patient and we are continuing to do a lot of surveillance after the isolation and the testing of the patient,” explained PS Muthoni.
However the ministry is committed to containing any outbreak and will provide updates on the number of cases once tracing and testing are complete. She emphasized the importance of the public remaining calm and following health advisories to help control the situation
“The ministry is working with the county governments, the port health officers and other relevant agencies to ensure the situation is controlled,” Muthoni stated.
Health Principal Secretary’s sentiments came after the Ministry of Health confirmed the outbreak of Mpox in Kenya at the Taita Taveta one stop border point from an individual travelling from Uganda to Rwanda through Kenya.
Read more: Ministry Of Health Declares Mpox Outbreak In Kenya