Deadly Zika Virus Has Been Confirmed in Kenya

The deadly zika virus, which is primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, has been detected in Kenya’s West Pokot and Turkana according to researchers.

The Aedes mosquito which also transmits chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever have been reported in West Pokot and Turkana County.

Zika virus was last reported in Brazil between 2016 and 2017 with 215,319 Zika infections diagnosed. Brazil reported 2,347 infants born with head deformities in a condition known as microcephaly due to the Zika infections.

The Kenyan researchers said they had detected 33 Zika incidents in West Pokot County and one in Turkana County. This is the first ever to be recorded in Kenya.

The researchers from the Ministry of Health, Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), the Nairobi-based International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology have advised that the Government puts measures in place to avoid a possible outbreak of the deadly Zika virus.

The researching team, led by Icipe’s  Edith Chepkorir, published a virology Journalon 17^th May stating that they had found evidence of present Zika virus among human beings in West Pokot and Turkana.

The research team that was investigating the presence of yellow fever, West Nile, dengue fever and Zika virus in the two counties, reported the presence of all the Four killer viruses.

West Pokot and Turkana border South Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda where recent outbreaks of dengue and yellow fever have been reported with the fear of them spilling over to Kenya.

In 877 samples collected from the two Counties, 33 samples turned positive for Zika in West Pokot while one was positive in Turkana.

The results of the study show an active circulation of Zika in both counties despite never having confirmed cases of the virus in Kenya.

In East Africa, Zika Virus was first detected in Zika forest Uganda in 1947 and it is, therefore, possible it spilled to West Pokot as the area the Zika was detected neighbors Uganda.

The research did not cover whether the present virus was responsible for any illness amongst Kenyans which ought to be urgently established to save lives.

Zika virus is said to mostly attack population between the ages of 13 to 19 years in the region, neutralizing antibodies while at it.

The research recommends more surveillance to include young children and expectant women as the virus is associated with congenital birth defects, in the developing fetus.

In West Pokot, the prevalence of Zika was twice as high amongst males and among those aged between 13–19 years.

“This calls for focused disease surveillance to forestall severe consequences of the virus in case of an outbreak,” the study recommends.