KENYA – The Government of Kenya has initiated a ten-day vaccination drive targeting 711,300 people in Garissa and Isiolo counties in response to a yellow fever outbreak recorded in parts of the country earlier this year.

Acting Director General for Health Dr. Patrick Amoth revealed that the vaccination drive will target all people aged between 9 months and 60 years while urging residents that live in targeted areas to take advantage of the free vaccination campaign and get vaccinated.

Dr. Patrick Amoth encouraged County governments to ensure immunization coverage for other vaccines remains high to prevent outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases, adding that all children under five years should receive two doses of measles rubella vaccine to reduce the risk of measles outbreaks.

Earlier, the Kenyan Government declared an outbreak of Yellow Fever in March 2022 which has seen at least 111 suspected patients presenting with fever, jaundice, muscle pain and joint pain including 12 fatalities reported in 10 counties so far.

Kenya developed a public health response plan to contain further spread of the viral disease such as deploying a rapid response team to Isiolo County and neighboring counties to determine the extent of the yellow fever outbreak.

International partners remain ready to support Kenya in her efforts to cushion vulnerable populations from preventable diseases especially after the devastation caused by the Coronavirus pandemic

Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease spread by infected mosquitoes mainly the Aedes species and the virus incubates in the body for three to six days, a small proportion of patients who contract the virus develop severe symptoms and approximately half of those die within 7 to 10 days.

The most common mild symptoms in the initial stages are fever, muscle pain with prominent backache, headache, loss of appetite and nausea or vomiting while in extreme situations high fever returns and several body systems are affected usually the liver and the kidneys.

According to Kenya’s Ministry of Health, a single dose of yellow fever vaccine is sufficient to confer sustained immunity and life-long protection against the disease providing effective immunity within 10 days for 80-100% of people vaccinated and within 30 days for more than 99% of people vaccinated.

Subsequently, Kenya has launched a yellow fever vaccination campaign that will cover Merti and Garbatula sub-counties in Isiolo County as well as Lagdera, Balambala and Garissa sub-counties in Garissa County in intensified efforts to curb the transmission of the acute disease.

The vaccination campaign seeks to protect the lives of Kenyans especially those vulnerable to infectious diseases as well as contain further spread of the acute disease with Isiolo County having already reported 71 cases with seven fatalities.

Acting Director General Dr. Patrick Amoth disclosed that majority of the yellow fever cases have been recorded in Isiolo County where all sub-counties have reported cases with Merti and Garbatulla being most affected while assuring the members of the public that the yellow fever jab is safe and effective.

The yellow fever vaccination drive remains among the most effective strategy to prevent the spread of the disease and the campaign marks a critical milestone in ongoing efforts to eradicate the disease that causes widespread illness.

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