Kenya’s Health Ministry on Friday expressed ‘shock at misinformed reports’ circulated by their Ugandan counterparts that the neighboring country has just recorded a yellow fever outbreak.
Uganda’s Health Ministry spokesperson Mrs Rukia Nakamatte told reporters recently that the killer disease had broken out in Kenya, Angola and the DRC. She said government would intensify checks on travelers entering Uganda especially at the Entebbe International Airport.
The Ministry also reportedly placed pull-up posters which read in part, “There is a yellow fever outbreak in Angola, Kenya and DRC.”
On Friday, the Kenyan Health Ministry termed these reports as false. Health Cabinet Secretary Dr. Cleopa Mailu asked the Ugandan government to withdraw the allegations “because they were unfounded.”
Dr. Mailu assured Kenyans and all foreigners that it was safe to travel to Kenya because there was no outbreak and surveillance remained high at all the points of entry.
“I want to address the attention of all the concerned that what the poster is purporting is untrue,” stated the Secretary.
He added that the country had only reported two yellow fever cases and they had been imported from Angola. No local transmission has occurred.
Kenya is classified as a low risk country but the importation of cases from travelers requires the country to remain alert.
“The two persons got the infection in the first week of March 2016 and were already beyond the transmission phase by the time they arrived in Kenya,” stated the CS.
“It has been more than two weeks since the last case was reported and the threat of an outbreak in Kenya is highly unlikely.”
A situation report dated March 22, indicated that the Ministry of Health had screened a total of 3,750 travelers for Yellow Fever at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) since the first case was confirmed on March 15, 2016.
Nine out of the 3,570 travelers, who had been screened by that time, were vaccinated. Non Kenyans who did not possess valid Yellow Fever certificates were denied entry