Kenya on alert after suspected polio outbreak

From Daily Nation in Kenya:

Public health officials are on a high alert after a suspected polio case was detected in Kirinyaga Central District.

A child was found to have acute paralysis in Kerugoya. Health officials now want to find out whether there is any other child having symptoms of the highly infectious disease in the area.

The child was found to have developed paralysis in the legs when her mother took her to the hospital for medical treatment.

According to the area medical officer of health, Dr Jorum Muraya, samples had been taken to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) for analysis.

“Stool samples of the child, which we collected on Tuesday have been taken to Kemri and we are waiting for the results,” he said. The child is now confined at the Kerugoya District Hospital.

Dr Muraya said the disease was being treated as polio.“When we come across such a case we treat it as polio until the results are out,” he said.

The officer said the case was not being taken lightly and that was why the officials had been sent to the affected area. Dr Muraya also said other officials had been sent to the neighbouring Kirinyaga West and Kirinyaga South districts to monitor the situation.

He observed that vaccination against the disease was recently done and about 90 per cent of children in the larger Kirinyaga district were immunised.