Kenya: 42 minors die from Influenza outbreak in Nakuru, government issues health alert

[tetano]

39 children have died from an Influenza outbreak and 296 other cases reported in Nakuru.
Health CS Cleopa Mailu on Tuesday said the illness mainly affects children under the age of five.
“All children with a cough and fever should visit the nearest health facility,” the CS said in a statement to newsrooms.
Preliminary results from Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) indicated a possible Influenza type A and B outbreak which can be mild, moderate or severe.
“As a way of preventing the spread of this illness, I am urging all Kenyans to always practice respiratory hygiene. We must cover our nose and mouth with either a handkerchief or tissue paper and dispose of it appropriately,” he said.

http://www.jambonewspot.com/39-minor...-health-alert/

 

[tetano]

By JOSEPH MURAYA, NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 12 ? The Government has dispatched disease control experts to Nakuru County after 39 children died of Influenza after developing medication resistance.
Cabinet Secretary for Health Cleopa Mailu says the team will carry out a comprehensive probe to establish the real magnitude of the outbreak, its cause and the possible risk factors.
According to the CS, ?blood samples and nasopharyngeal samples have been taken and sent to the CDC National Influenza Sentinel Laboratory in Nairobi for further testing to determine the cause.?
The disease, mainly affecting children below five years is characterised by cough, fever that does not respond to medication followed by convulsions, coma and eventually death.

https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2016/04/experts-sent-nakuru-39-influenza-deaths/

 

[tetano]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuKKQ4xYR8U

 

[tetano]

Following an influenza outbreak that has killed 39 infants in Nakuru County, the government has asked parents whose children under five years have a cough and fever to take them to hospital immediately.
Since March 24, when the first case was reported, 296 Influenza cases have been confirmed.
Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu told the Nation in a phone interview that influenza should not be confused with a common cold, because while both have flu-like symptoms, Influenza is caused by two specific viruses, Type A and B.
The health ministry said the illness has been reported in children under five who have fever and a cough that ?does not respond to medication? followed by convulsion, coma and death.
Dr Mailu said his ministry has also alerted all county health workers to detect new cases promptly to avert more deaths.
“The cases are also responding poorly to antibiotics,” said a statement marked urgent by the CS.

http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Influe...hospital/-/1056/3156164/-/92h09z/-/index.html

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Don?t ignore coughs in babies to fight disease, parents urged
Since March 24, when the first case was reported, 296 Influenza cases have been confirmed.

TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2016
...

KEMRI TESTS

Preliminary results from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) released on Monday indicated that the children who went to hospital displaying flu-like symptoms could have been infected with influenza, a viral infection that attacks a person?s respiratory system (nose, throat and lungs).

The two county hospitals last week sent a second set of samples to the research centre for testing after the first test turned out negative for suspected pneumonia.

?Initial tests from the main influenza laboratory showed the samples tested positive for influenza,? said Dr Rosemary Sang, the acting director of the Centre for Virus Research at Kemri.
...
Initial deaths of 23 children below the age of one died within four weeks of onset of the illness to what had been suspected to be viral pneumonia.

Nakuru County Health executive Kabii Mungai said the children went to hospital with symptoms of high fever, cough and difficulty in breathing.

While some had symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting, which laboratory results conducted by the hospital indicated was likely to be viral pneumonia.

But the first samples sent to Kemri ruled out pneumonia, throwing the medical personnel and parents into anxiety as they could not tell what they were treating.
...
http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Influe...hospital/-/1056/3156164/-/92h09z/-/index.html

 

[tetano]

[h=3]350,000 children to be vaccinated in Influenza drive[/h] This is after an outbreak of the Influenza virus types A and B, which has resulted in 39 deaths and more than 296 accumulated cases in the past three weeks.
Philip Muthoka, deputy director of Medical Services in charge of the Influenza surveillance team, and who was dispatched to the county to investigate and monitor the outbreak, said he had written a proposal to the Ministry of Health to help in funding the programme.
Dr Muthoka said the ministry should help in mobilising resources that will see the underage immunised against the virus. He said the death toll was high and warned that if no measures were put in place, the disease that spreads through contact might infect more infants and elderly people in the country. ?Vaccination is very expensive but it is the only measure the Government can out in place to ensure the virus does not kill our future generation,? he said.

http://www.newsjs.com/url.php?p=htt...-children-to-be-vaccinated-in-influenza-drive

 

[tetano]

[h=1]Nairobi County health officials deny Influenza, hepatitis outbreak[/h] The Nairobi County Government has moved to avert worries of a potential outbreak of influenza and hepatitis A diseases in the city.
Speaking at City Hall on Monday, Nairobi County Health Executive Bernard Muia called on residents to observe high hygiene standards, consume clean and boiled water to avoid contracting the two diseases.
Muia further urged city residents to take preventive measures to avert an outbreak, with the county government pledging to drain stagnant water and treat drinking water to ensure the safety of residents.

The county executive has assured that the county government disease surveillance unit is on the lookout for signs of influenza or hepatitis A outbreaks.
City residents who experience symptoms that include high fever, cough, difficulty in breathing and diarrhoea and vomiting in children have been urged to seek urgent medical attention.

https://citizentv.co.ke/news/nairob...als-deny-influenza-hepatitis-outbreak-123203/

 

[tetano]

[h=1]Nakuru residents to get Influenza vaccine[/h] Nakuru county in collaboration with the National government will carry out a massive vaccination exercise against Influenza A and B that has so far killed more than 40 children at the Nakuru County Referral and General Hospital.
County Health Executive Dr Mungai Kabii said the exercise which will cost an estimated Sh400 million will target vulnerable groups including the elderly and children between six months and seven years, and also those prone to the infections including people living with HIV/Aids, and health workers managing the outbreak.
Briefing the press at Nakuru Annex Hospital yesterday, Dr Kabii said the Nakuru County Referral and General Hospital has received 90 doses of drugs and is expecting more by the end of the week.
He commended the Ministry of Health for sending a team of doctors from Disease Surveillance and Response who teamed up with doctors from the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States to help in investigation and diagnosis of the influenza before it spread further.

http://www.mediamaxnetwork.co.ke/people-daily/215050/nakuru-residents-to-get-influenza-vaccine/

 

[Ronan Kelly]

42 children die from the influenza outbreak in Nakuru County

The influenza virus outbreak reported in Nakuru from March 24th has since claimed the lives of 42 children with 296 cases of infected persons confirmed.
...
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/ktnn...-from-the-influenza-outbreak-in-nakuru-county