A section of Busia Town. [Photo/ citizentv.co.ke]Health officials in Busia have told members of the public to keep calm even as one person tested positive to the potentially deadly mosquito-borne Dengue fever disease.
County Director in Charge of Curative and Rehabilitative Services Dr Janerose Ambuchi said the case was of a Somali national who had travelled from Mombasa to the border town.
He was confirmed positive and admitted to the Busia County Teaching and Referral Hospital for two days under health officials’ watch.
“Although Dengue is real and can catch us as per this case, people should not panic. We have his (victim) contacts and information about his treatment. We are not afraid that he has spread it to other residents of the county,” Dr Ambuchi told journalists in Busia urging locals to use mosquito repellants and sleep under mosquito nets.
“We don't have the vector that causes the disease here. People should feel relaxed as they celebrate their Madaraka Day.”
An alert was issued in Mombasa County last week in response to an outbreak of the disease.
According to the World Health Organization, Dengue is transmitted by the female mosquito of Aedes Aegypti, the same species that transmits yellow fever.
Dengue was first reported in Mombasa in 2013, with 197 suspected cases reported. Of these, 38 tested positive. About 590 cases were reported last year.
Dengue fever is a potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease caused by the dengue virus. The disease is more prevalent in areas that are crowded and unhygienic.
The Dengue infection causes a flu-like illness and occasionally develops into a potentially lethal complication called dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Symptoms associated with the disease include high fever, vomiting, headache, muscle and joint pains and skin rash. They begin two to three weeks after infection while recovery takes two to seven days.