National and Machakos County health officials have rolled-out a targeted Mpox vaccination campaign in Machakos County, focusing on about 1,200 people in high-risk groups along the busy Malaba-Mombasa transport corridor.
The exercise, launched during a sensitization forum in Athi River Sub-county, will prioritize sex workers, long-distance truck drivers, men who have sex with men, frontline health workers, and hotel staff.
Athi River Sub-county Medical Superintendent, Dr. Shadrack Kyengo, disclosed that the campaign is a response to active Mpox cases in the County, including a patient currently admitted at Kangundo Level 4 Hospital. Others have been treated and discharged.
“Mpox has been a problem in our neighboring countries, and we now have cases here. We decided to focus on people who travel a lot, like truck drivers, and special units that interact with them a lot, such as commercial sex workers, both male and female, said Kyengo.
Health officials identified Athi River, Mlolongo, and Kyumbi as hotspots due to heavy truck traffic and a high concentration of commercial sex workers.
“People living in those areas are at greater risk and if one person contracts the disease, it can spread quickly through the population,” said Dr Kyengo.
The Machakos drive is similar to vaccination campaigns already completed in Mombasa and Busia, where most truck drivers and sex workers have received shots.
Dr. Kyengo noted that the initial Phase will cover 1,200 people in Machakos, but the long-term goal is to vaccinate all Kenyans, and the exercise will continue “Until the disease is suppressed not only in Machakos but across the country.”
Unlike routine hospital-based immunization, this campaign will take vaccines directly to communities. Stakeholders from the targeted groups have also been trained on Mpox symptoms, causes, treatment, and prevention.
“The disease is new in Kenya, but the government has put in place necessary measures to reduce its effects. Vaccination helps prevent spread to the wider populace,” he added.
County officials urged residents in hotspot areas to cooperate with health teams and seek information on prevention.
By Anne Kangero
