Kenya issues alert after patient dies of yellow fever at KNH

Kenya has increased surveillance for yellow fever after a patient died at Kenyatta National Hospital while being treated for the disease.

The Ministry of Health has also asked Kenyans to be on the lookout for any unusual symptoms of diseases and report cases to the nearest health facility.

According to a statement from the ministry, the patient, a 31-year-old man, had travelled to Angola, which is dealing with a yellow fever outbreak and where he contracted the disease.

“He had been unwell for four days before arriving in the country and presented to a private health facility in Eastleigh with fever, joint pains, blood stained stool and vomitus on the day of arrival,” said Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu in a statement.

The CS said that when a medic at the Eastleigh clinic suspected that the patient had haemorrhagic fever, the man was transferred to KNH, where he later developed confusion and renal and liver failure.

TESTED POSITIVE
“Laboratory investigations conducted at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) tested positive for Yellow Fever antibodies and negative for Ebola and Marburg,” added Dr Mailu.

The man died later as a result of multiple-organ failure.

As a result, Dr Mailu said the ministry had “stepped up surveillance, preparedness and response measures to secure Kenya from the Yellow Fever Virus.”

“This has been necessitated by the index case and the continuing outbreak in Angola.”

Kenya is classified as a low-risk country for yellow fever infection, with the last outbreak having occurred in 1992.

“However, we remain cognisant of the risks posed through importation of cases from travellers, as this case demonstrates,” said Dr Mailu.

He added: “There is currently no evidence of local transmission of the virus and the patient acquired the infection before arriving into the country.”

SCREENING TRAVELLERS

The minister said ministry officials are now screening travellers who come from or transit through yellow fever-risk countries, checking if they have been vaccinated against the disease.

“Since [the] beginning of March, 2,718 passengers have been screened at JKIA alone, and 6 people from the affected country were denied entry due to lack of proof for yellow fever vaccination.”

In addition, an alert has also been sent to all counties, hospitals and points of entry, including measures to be taken to identify possible cases early.

Yellow fever is caused by the yellow fever virus, which is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito.

Once contracted, the virus incubates in the body for three to six days, followed by illness whose symptoms include fever, muscle pain with prominent backache, headache, shivers, loss of appetite, and nausea or vomiting.

Vaccination is the single most important measure for preventing yellow fever. The virus is endemic in tropical areas of Africa and Latin America.