Gov’t Contains Swine-Flu Outbreak In Nakuru

NAKURU, Kenya, Aug, 24 – The government has assured Nakuru residents that the recent reported Swine-Flu outbreak in Elementaita area has been contained and that there was no cause for alarm.

Nakuru County Public Health Chief Officer, Dr. Daniel Wainana, said adequate mitigation measures have been put in place to control the spread of the virus to other areas and also to both humans and animals.

He said currently only eight children below one year of age, are admitted with mild signs of the virus and that they were being treated using antibiotics and ensuring they are well feed and warm.

He said two are admitted at Nakuru Level Five Hospital while six others are at Kiptangwanyi Health Center.

The Chief Officer said the virus was mild and that with the on-going mitigation measures, the disease was fully controlled and curtailed.

He, however, called on members of the public to maintain good hygiene measures including good ventilation, proper nutrition and proper sanitation to fully eradicate the signs of the flu.

Dr. Wainana explained that the flu was first reported on 27th of July this year at Kiptangwanyi Health Center in Elementaita Ward after a large number of children below one year presented with the flu symptoms, including high fever, difficulty in breathing and prolonged cough.

He added that a team of experts, including surveillance officers were dispatched to the affected area where five samples out of nine sent to KEMRI and the National Public Health labs detected the presence of Swine H1N1 variant of influenza virus.

The medic said the County Disease Surveillance System Unit was currently engaging other health agencies from the Ministry of Livestock and Kenya Wildlife Service, to ensure early detection of any virus signal in the County, to help avert spread of the virus to both wild and domestic animals.

Dr. Wainana said this is the second time that Swine-flu has hit Elementaita area with the first incidence reported in February of the year 2020, just before the first case of Coronavirus was reported in Kenya.