Quantcast
Published On: Sun, May 19th, 2013

Mombasa, Kenya experiencing first dengue fever outbreak in three decades

Following recent reports of the first dengue fever outbreak on the west African coastal province of Luanda, Angola, health officials are now reporting another outbreak on the other side of the continent in Mombasa, Kenya, according to a recent report from the Kenyan news source, The Star.

Kenya map source/CIA

Kenya map source/CIA

As of the end of April, the Kenya Medical Research Institute has reported more than 140 cases of the mosquito borne viral disease in the Indian Ocean coastal county.

According to a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Kenya travel notice Friday, this is the first identified dengue outbreak in Mombasa since 1982.

The Kenyan Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MOPHS), the Kenya Medical Research Institute,  the Walter Reed Project, and CDC are working together to reduce the mosquito population in the area, educate health care workers and community members about the disease, and monitor the area for more dengue cases.

Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and caused by any of four related dengue viruses. This disease used to be called “break-bone fever” because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking.

People get the dengue virus from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. It is not contagious from person to person.

There are three types of dengue fever in order of less severe to most: the typical uncomplicated dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHS) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS).

What is dengue fever?

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya, with a population of over one million people. A regional cultural and economic hub, Mombasa has a prominent port and an international airport, and is an important regional tourism centre. The city is situated on the east coast of Kenya, in Coast Province, bordering the Indian Ocean.

For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page

Looking for a job in health care? Check here to see what’s available

On the DISPATCH: Headlines  Local  Opinion

Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter

* indicates required
/ ( mm / dd ) [ALL INFO CONFIDENTIAL]

About the Author

- Writer, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch. Robert has been covering news in the areas of health, world news and politics for a variety of online news sources. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the website, Outbreak News Today and hosts the podcast, Outbreak News Interviews on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify Robert is politically Independent and a born again Christian Follow @bactiman63

Displaying 3 Comments
Have Your Say
  1. norbert says:

    I have a consistent headache and joint pains.Can this mean i have dengue fever?

  2. Mombasa, Kenya experiencing first dengue fever ... says:

    […] Mombasa, Kenya experiencing first dengue fever outbreak in three decades The Global Dispatch Following recent reports of the first dengue fever outbreak on the west African coastal province of Luanda, Angola, health officials are now reporting…  […]

  3. Mombasa, Kenya experiencing first dengue fever outbreak in three decades | Mombasa.travel says:

    […] […]

Leave a comment

XHTML: You can use these html tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

like_us_on_facebook

 

The Global Dispatch Facebook page- click here

Movie News Facebook page - click here

Television News Facebook page - click here

Weird News Facebook page - click here 

DISPATCH RADIO

dispatch_radio

THE BRANDON JONES SHOW

brandon_jones_show-logo

Archives