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Health alert after man 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.