Kenya is on high alert after a yet-to-be identified disease killed 35 people in Uganda.
Reports indicate that 86 people had contracted the disease.
The Director for Public Health and Sanitation, Dr Shahnaaz Sharif, on Wednesday said his office was in constant communication with Ugandan officials to monitor the outbreak.
The symptoms of the illness are headaches, fever and vomiting blood. However, Dr Sharif said that he had received word that the Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever, caused by the Ebola virus, had been ruled out.
Kitkum, which is situated about 400 kilometres north of Kampala, and three districts surrounding it, have so far been affected.
Dr Sharif was quick to add that Kenya is not at immediate risk as there are some districts between Kitkum and the Kenyan border acting as ‘buffers’.
Nonetheless, health officials are vigilant especially in Turkana District, which is at highest risk, given its proximity to the affected region.
The director issued this alert as he announced the second round of the polio emergency campaign that will run from December 11-15.
This comes after a confirmed polio case was reported in Bugiri District, Eastern Uganda, which borders the Ugandan Busia District that shares a border with Kenya’s Busia District.
The reports triggered the emergency vaccination programme, due to the high transmission rate of the virus.
The first round, which has been rated as successful as 982,881 children were vaccinated, was carried out on December 20-24, 2009 and the final leg will be from January 15-19 next year.
Its target is 1,001,785 children.
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