Kenya: Dengue fever in Mandera, four fatalities

[Ronan Kelly]

Dengue fever outbreak in Kenya kills four and infects thousands
September 28, 2011 at 3:26 AM by AHN ? Leave a Comment


Mandera, Kenya (IRIN) ? An outbreak of dengue fever in the northeastern Kenyan town of Mandera, close to the Somalia and Ethiopia borders, has affected more than 1,000 people, with four unconfirmed deaths, according to the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation and the World Health Organization (WHO).

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http://gantdaily.com/2011/09/28/dengue-fever-outbreak-in-kenya-kills-four-and-infects-thousands/

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Kenya: Dengue fever in Mandera, four fatalities

In Brief: Dengue fever outbreak in Kenya

NAIROBI, 28 September 2011 (IRIN) - An outbreak of dengue fever in the northeastern Kenyan town of Mandera, close to the Somalia and Ethiopia borders, has affected more than 1,000 people, with four unconfirmed deaths, according to the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation and the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to WHO, "Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection that causes a severe flu-like illness, and sometimes a potentially lethal complication called dengue haemorrhagic fever."

The ?attack rate is very high but mortality is very low", the ministry said in a statement. A permanent river, Dawa, passes through Mandera. Health officials said residents had been complaining of mosquito bites during the day with the bites swelling. "Using bed nets was impractical as the vector was biting during the day," the ministry said. "The Public Health office has also noted the resistance developed by the vector to insecticides of different varieties (Icon and Deltamethrin mainly)."

Health authorities have alerted all neighbouring districts and public awareness campaigns are ongoing, advising residents to seek early medical attention.

ah/mw

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=93838

[Pathfinder]

Re: Kenya: Dengue fever in Mandera, four fatalities

UN releases drugs to help battle dengue fever outbreak in Kenya

29 September 2011 ?

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has provided essential drugs to help treat an outbreak of dengue fever that has affected an estimated 1,000 people in the north-eastern Kenyan district of Mandera, which borders Ethiopia and Somalia.

There have been four unconfirmed deaths and some patients have been showing symptoms of Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever, a more severe form of the disease, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), reported in an update.

All neighbouring districts have been alerted and people advised to seek early medical attention if they become ill.

Meanwhile, anaemia prevalence among children under the age of five in the refugee camps in Kenya?s Dadaab area is above 40 per cent, according to OCHA. The camps host nearly 470,000 refugees, the majority of them from Somalia.

Three of six suspected cases of cholera in the Dadaab camps have been confirmed and all the patients arrived recently from Somalia. Some 82 per cent of the refugee population have received measles vaccination during a recent mass inoculation campaign.

An estimated 3.75 million people in Kenya have been experiencing food shortages a result of a prolonged drought in the Horn of Africa, and relief agencies are working with the Government to scale up distributions to the affected populations through one coordinated pipeline from October.

In August, the overall number of admissions to hospital of children with severe acute malnutrition declined from 6,379 to 5,560 cases, but an increase in admissions has been reported in the districts of Marsabit, Samburu, West Pokot and Laikipia.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.as...4&Cr=kenya&Cr1=

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Kenya: Dengue fever in Mandera, four fatalities

EpiSouth Weekly Epi Bulletin – N°186
5th October – 11th October 2011

Kenya reports dengue epidemic in Mandera district

On 28th September 2011, the
Kenyan health authorities reported
an epidemic of dengue in Mandera
district, at the North-East border
with Somalia and Ethiopia.

 About 5 000 suspected cases
would have been reported,
including at least 4 deaths.

 16 cases of dengue were
confirmed by the KEMRI laboratory
and the CDC in Atlanta, USA.

This is the first dengue epidemic documented in the country since 1982.

 Several recent sero-prevalence studies implemented in different areas
in Kenya showed evidence of dengue virus circulation in the country,
with different rates according to areas and ages.

 The occurrence of a dengue epidemic in Kenya is not an unexpected
event. Considering that there is no surveillance system for arboviruses
in Kenya and in the neighbouring countries, few epidemics are
identified and reported.

 The circulation of dengue is probably underestimated in the country,
and more globally speaking in Africa.

Episouth

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Kenya: Dengue fever in Mandera, four fatalities

...

Health: An estimated 10,000 people are now affected by the dengue fever outbreak in Mandera, northeast
Kenya. The government and partners are heightening surveillance and case management. A household
community based assessment is ongoing in Mandera to establish an accurate caseload. This week, one
case has also been reported in Wajir district (northeast Kenya). Flooding in Turkana and Pokot areas
(northwest Kenya) has caused a spread of malaria in the Upper Rift Valley, with outbreaks in Turkana,
Kakuma and surrounding districts. All health facilities in the drought-affected areas of Eastern, North Eastern
and Rift Valley provinces are using prepositioned anti-malarial drugs and supplies. WHO is working with the
Government to develop a new malaria control strategy. A polio vaccination campaign which began on 24
September targeting one million children is ongoing in Nyanza and surrounding districts in southwest Kenya.
...

http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/OCHA%20HOA%20Situation%20Report%20No.%2018-14%20October%202011%20final.pdf