School with six confirmed, 250 likely H1N1 cases in Kenya

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Kenya: Swine Flu panic grips students
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Posted on Friday 21 August 2009 - 12:39
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Jack Shaka, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya
Six students have been infected with the swine flu in the Nyanza Province sections of Gusii in Kenya. A team of experts have been dispatched to the area to do thorough screening. The infected are now receiving treatment at the referral hospital in Nairobi-Kenyatta National Hospital.
AfricaNews reporter said the infected students had just come back from Mombasa city after attending the Kenya Schools and Colleges National Music Festival. Thomas Nyang?au the District Public Health Officer has suspended all tuition in nearby schools and church gatherings for at least 10 days.

The Public Health Minister told parliament earlier that six out of nine samples taken from a school in Keiyo District had turned out positive. 250 students from Kapirsis Primary School in the area were reported to have developed the flu symptoms.

So far tension continues to rise among the over 1,000 students who participated in the festival and most have gone back home or to school for holiday tuition, our reporter said. ?People should not panic because the disease has symptoms like those of the common flu. We appeal to those who might develop such symptoms to visit the nearest health centre for examination,? Abwaku said.

?We are urging local people to report any person who may present symptoms of swine flu so that necessary steps are taken,? said the District Commissioner for Borabu, Hassan Noor.

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Re: School with six confirmed, 250 likely H1N1 cases in Kenya

Kenya: Swine Flu Nightmare at School

Mike Mwaniki and Cynthia Vukets
17 September 2009

Nairobi ? Students at Kenya High School in Nairobi were on Thursday quarantined after health officials confirmed that 25 of them had contracted swine flu, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the country to 159.

Parents and other visitors were not allowed into the school, which will remain isolated for 10 days.

Public Health minister Beth Mugo said the results were confirmed on Wednesday. Girls with asthma or other conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus have also been quarantined.

The director of Public Health, Dr Shahnaaz Shariff, said the affected girls had received treatment before the isolation.

"Majority of them, who are in forms One and Two, were treated and advised to remain under bed rest to minimise further spread of the disease among the student community," he said.

He described their condition as "not too serious to warrant hospitalisation".

On Thursday, guards at the school's gate refused Nation journalists entry, saying they were under firm instructions to lock out all visitors. Telephone calls to the school management also went unanswered.

However, during the visit to the school the Nation saw two ambulances leaving the compound.

Parents thronged the school but were turned away by security officers, who said they had received orders from the administration not to let anyone in.

"The number of infected students is rising too fast," a teacher who sought anonymity said.

"Things may get even more serious by tomorrow (today) morning."

Parents complained of being kept in the dark over the condition of their children.

"We have been here since 10am and nobody is addressing us," said Mr Joshua Kateng, a parent. "We need to be told what is going on."

Ms Teresa Nduta said several telephone calls she made to the school went unanswered. She called on the school's administration to immediately close the institution and sent the students home.

"They will be safer at home," said Ms Nduta, who said her daughter was in Form Two.

Last month, health officials announced that 70 cases of H1N1 influenza, the proper name for swine flu, had been reported in the country, with Nairobi leading with 40 cases, Kisumu (18), Rift Valley (10) Garissa (2) and Nyeri (1).

They described swine flu as a mild condition and urged the public to seek prompt treatment if they had fever and general body weakness.

The first case of swine flu to be diagnosed in Kenya involved a British university student who was in a group of 34 on an educational tour of the country.

As of September 6, 277,607 cases of swine flu had been reported worldwide.

The spread of the virus began in Mexico in April, and Kenya confirmed its first case on June 29.

The World Health Organisation officially declared the disease a global pandemic on June 11.

More than 100 countries have confirmed cases of swine flu. To date, nearly 3,205 people have died of the flu worldwide.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200909170804.html

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Re: School with six confirmed, 250 likely H1N1 cases in Kenya

Swine Flu outbreak hits several Kenyan schools.

Posted on Monday 21 September 2009 - 20:16

Nearly 200 students are feared to have contracted A/H1N1 flu famously known as Swine flu as the epidemic rip through major Kenya secondary schools, health officials said.

More than 182 Students in five secondary schools have been quarantined after they were found to have contracted the disease, more cases send to Kenya Medical Research Institute, KEMRI for further analysis.

Dr Shahnaaz Shariff, The Director of Public Health however says the situation does not call for any alarm, as the illness remains mild among the victims.

?They are relatively mild illness and some of them are influenza,? he stated.

The new Swine flu cases were first reported on Tuesday in a Nairobi school where students who returned from holiday shown signs of the influenza.

Kenya reported its first swine flu case on late June through a 20-year old British student who was in a group of 34 students on educational tour in western region.

The disease has claimed more than 3,205 people worldwide while over 277,607 people have been confirmed to have contracted A/H1N1 flu since April, according to latest WHO update.

http://www.africanews.com/site/Swine_Flu_outbreak_hits_several_Kenyan_schools/list_messages/27053