The government is on a high alert after a polio case was reported in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area.
The health ministry said the polio virus type 2 was reported on April 6.
Through a statement to county directors of health, director medical services Jackson Kioko warned of the virus, that is medically known as circulating vaccine-derived polio virus type 2.
“On Friday, April 6, the ministry was notified by Kenya Medical Research Institute(KEMRI) of isolation of polio virus type 2 from an environmental sample collected on March 21 from one of the sites in Eastleigh, Kamukunji Sub-county,” the statement read.
“Genetic sequencing of the isolate in CDC Atlanta laboratories subsequently confirmed it is circulating vaccine-derived polio type 2(CVDPV2),”read the alert.
Kenya established environmental sample surveillance in 2013 following the large a wild polio virus outbreak in Somalia that eventually led to the importation of 14 cases to Kenya.
Currently, nine sites located in Nairobi, Garissa, Mombasa and Kisumu counties are undertaking the activity.