Swine Flu outbreak: One child dead, eight admitted in Nakuru

One child has died as a result of a swine flu outbreak in  Nakuru County.

At Rift Valley Provision General Hospital (PGH) and Kiptangwanyi Health Centre in Elementaita, Gilgil sub-county, eight additional children are receiving medical care.

As of yesterday, individuals admitted to the two hospitals were in stable condition, according to the authorities.

The Public Health Emergency Center got a notification from Kiptangwany Health Centre on July 27, according to Dr. Daniel Wainaina, the county’s chief officer of health. The center’s director, Dr. Wainaina, saw a rise in the number of kids presenting with a high temperature, a cough, and breathing difficulties.

“The majority of those admitted to the centre were children under the age of one year,” Wainaina said.

A pig-originating influenza virus is what causes swine flu, a respiratory infection in humans. Flu is brought on by the H1N1 virus strain. Since the outbreak’s start on July 27, 2022, 140 cases of swine flu have been reported to the county’s department of health as of yesterday. 65 of the 140 instances involved women, compared to 75 involving men.

In order to monitor the situation and put the appropriate swine flu H1N1 protective measures in place, a team of surveillance officers who first reported the epidemic is currently on the ground.

Wainaina gave them the assurance that their situations were stable before treating and releasing the remaining kids. He saw that none of them visited the hospital again to report a resurgence of the infection.

“We’ve been doing follow-ups to ensure those who have been treated are stable,” Wainaina said

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Ten cases a day were reported during the beginning of the outbreak, according to the department, but no deaths have been reported in the past week, and the number of cases has dropped. On Monday, only two cases were documented.

He told the people of Nakuru that the department had added more staff to ensure constant watchfulness. Wainaina predicted that after a few weeks, both the severity of the flu and the number of cases reported will dramatically decline. Daily testing are carried out, and samples are transmitted to public health labs, according to Wainaina.

Despite the fact that the majority of cases are reported between February and April, the flu has been associated with the cold weather this month. The department stated that although cases are normally recorded once a year, they have grown and that the trend of flu outbreaks changes depending on the environmental circumstances.

Over the past two years, the nation has seen an extraordinary climatic change and unpredictable weather.

Despite the rise in instances, the department of health maintains that there is no cause for alarm because the flu is treated in the same way as other illnesses.

“Those affected are children under the age of one year, the elderly, and people with underlying health problems.”

The county has started a public awareness campaign about virus propagation in conjunction with the national public health.