Kenya's mpox cases rise to eight amid fight against stigma

by IANS |

Nairobi, Sep 28 (IANS) Kenya's Ministry of Health confirmed another mpox case, bringing the total number of infections to eight as the government stepped up community awareness to curb the stigma surrounding it.

Mary Muthoni, the principal secretary in the Ministry of Health, said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the case had been confirmed in Bungoma, western Kenya.

"Sixty-one contacts have been followed up and released. Only one tested positive for mpox," she said, Xinhua news agency reported.

Muthoni added that Kenya had cumulatively screened 1.05 million travellers at 26 points of entry and no deaths have been reported so far.

She said that the ministry has intensified surveillance, risk communication and community engagement to combat stigma and promote infection prevention.

According to her, protocols and guidelines are in place for case management, treatment and infection prevention and control while psychosocial support is available to the affected.

Kenya is among the African countries that have reported mpox cases. The others are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Cameroon, Liberia, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda, South Africa, Guinea, Gabon and Rwanda.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern on August 14 and called for a coordinated global response.