MoH allays fears of Covid outbreak, says it is surge in flu cases

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has dismissed claims that the surge in respiratory illnesses in the country is due to the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), attributing it to an increase in the swine flu influenza virus cases. 

In a statement on Thursday, the Acting Director General for Health, Dr Patrick Amoth stated that influenza cases are usually high from February to March and July to November, adding that they have also been monitoring SARS-CoV-2 cases with a focus on the new variant clade JNI since December last year.

Amoth said an upsurge in influenza cases is usually expected during this time of the year, citing the insignificance in the number of hospitalizations and deaths from the virus. 

“None of these sites have reported an increase in the numbers of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) but increased cases of influenza have been reported."

 “The surveillance systems employed are: passive surveillance (covering the entire country), sentinel surveillance (9 sites), Event Based Surveillance (8 counties), Integrated Facility Based Surveillance (12 sites), and Mortality Surveillance (10 sites). Among the pathogens monitored are those that have a high potential to cause epidemic flu such as SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), influenza virus, and other pathogens that are implicated in upper and lower respiratory infections,” Amoth stated.

The office of the Director General has urged the public to take precautions, like avoiding contact with people displaying respiratory symptoms, getting vaccinated against Influenza, using facemask in public areas, and washing hands with soap and water. He also said the virus is self-limiting as Kenyans can recover from it without seeking medication. However it may cause death. 

This statement comes a week after doctors raised an alarm over a surge in respiratory infections in the country, with some health experts attributing this to a resurgence of COVID-19.

Kenya identified an offshoot of the Omicron variant, designated JN.1, and also detected the swine flu influenza virus in surveillance data from positive COVID samples collected across the 14 counties in the Lake Region Economic Bloc.