NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 18 – The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) has refuted claims of an influenza outbreak attributed to findings in its recent study.
KEMRI, in a statement issued on Friday, indicated the said research only picked four cases out of thirty-six samples, far below the threshold of what would be considered an outbreak.
The agency was referring to reports on a section of the print and social media that the research institute had declared an outbreak, spreading widespread panic across the country.
KEMRI noted in the routine surveillance conducted from September to November, yielded “insignificant findings to warrant concerns of an influenza outbreak especially within the tropics.”
The institute further noted that the four positive tests recorded within the three-month period equated to one positive case per month and this did not reach the threshold of an influenza outbreak.
“Past outbreaks have involved higher percentage of cases being positive. In one incident, 150 samples testing positive from a sample of 250 and another case 14 out of 20 samples tested positive,” KEMRI stated.
The institute further added that the flu that is spreading across the country is attributed to the rainy season, and Kenyans should instead adopt preventive measures such as keeping warm, eating healthy, exercise higher standards of personal hygiene including hand washing and visiting local health providers for treatment.
“We know from our long-term studies in Kenya that influenza viruses circulate all year, so you can expect a certain number of people to have the flu at any given time which is not considered an outbreak. Indeed, previous studies have shown that Kenya records two peaks following rainy seasons. In our opinion, the information above is not sufficient to declare this as an outbreak,” it added.
