Some 28 million Kenyans are at risk of contacting malaria this year, Health Ministry has said.
Director of Medical Services Jackson Kioko, who spoke during World Malaria Day in Narok today, said the ministry has intensified the fight against the killer disease.
He said the government was committed to eradicating malaria adding that a vaccine to prevent its spread was under trials in the country, Malawi and Ghana.
Kioko said scientific trials were underway to ensure that it was safe for children under the age of five years.
“The trials are aimed at determining its efficacy and identifying side effects. After all measures are in place, the government will roll it out before mid next year,” he said.
Mosquirix or RTS being developed by World Health Organisation (WHO) is designed to prevent the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, from infecting, maturing and multiplying in the liver, after which it re-enters the bloodstream and infects red cells, leading to malaria.
Kioko said, in general, there has been a steady decline in malaria cases in the country with 1 out of 50 people testing positive.