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The Ministry of Health has dispelled fears of a possible swine flu outbreak.
In a statement, the ministry said that the influenza strain responsible for the death of a teenager two days ago was neither an avian flu nor a swine flu, as previously reported.
According to the ministry, the death was due to a severe acute respiratory infection (Sari).
It had previously been claimed that the 17-year-old boy succumbed to swine flu at a Nairobi hospital.
As The Standard learned, the teenager had been taken to the hospital with high fever and chest pain. His condition worsened and he was transferred Thursday to the unit of people with heavy addiction. He died Friday.
According to the incident report, the patient died of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The report stated that the boy was in Watamu, Mombasa, two weeks before his return to Nairobi, where he became ill.
A doctor who treated the teenager would have been infected and hospitalized. The boy's mother, who took him to the hospital, and his sister are also hospitalized.
His father was not touched.
The ministry said the three patients were responding well and that one of them (the sister) was being treated on an outpatient basis because she had mild symptoms.
The ministry noted that surveillance data from the past decade showed influenza viruses circulating throughout the year, with peaks of activity from February to April and from June to November.
Flu virus
"We are currently witnessing an increased circulation of influenza viruses in Kenya."
Last March, a suspected case of bird flu was reported to Nanyuki. A five-year-old boy has died.
The Sari virus is as dangerous as the swine flu. Some of the symptoms listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) are high temperatures of 38 degrees or more, a 10-day cough and breathing difficulties.
Both influenza strains spread by contact with the body fluids of an infected person. People who are less immune, such as children, the elderly, and people who are naturally prone to viral infections, are at high risk.
The ministry has advised anyone with symptoms, including sore throats, headaches and muscle aches, to seek medical attention. "With common cold fever is rare, the onset of symptoms is quite gradual and there is rarely pain or chills," health authorities said.
Other precautions include high standards of sanitation, such as washing hands, disinfecting objects and surfaces, and drinking plenty of fluids.
Swine flu, which comes from pigs, was declared a pandemic in 2009 by WHO after the virus ravaged Asian countries and spread to the human population.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that swine flu has infected nearly 61 million people in the United States and killed 12,469 people. Worldwide, 575,400 people have died.
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