1 July 2009
Nairobi — Hotel and tourism players have been put on high alert following the reported case of swine flu in Kenya.
At a crisis meeting at the Ministry of Tourism headquarters chaired by assistant minister Cecily Mbarire, industry players were asked to report any suspected case promptly.
"We ask the players to improve on their surveillance and report any suspected case to the Ministry of Public Health immediately. This will help us monitor the progress of the deadly flu in the country," said Ms Mbarire.
The first case of the flu tested positive on a British student in Kisumu on Sunday. The student, in the company of 34 others, is on a field trip to the KEMRI-CDC station in Nyanza. The first case of swine flu was reported in Mexico last March.
Country abuzz
The country has been abuzz since Monday when Ministry of Public Health officials confirmed the case. However, industry players remain buoyant that tourist arrivals will not be affected.
"We have the assurance of the ministry that they are capable of handling the swine flu. This isolated case will not in anyway affect business in the sector," said Mr Grieve Cook, the chairman of the Kenya Tourist Board.
The flu case was reported at a time when the tourism industry is approaching the high season. In the period -- July to September -- the country records an increased number of visitors.
"Screening standards of travellers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and public sensitisation have also been scaled up," Mr Charles Nzioka, the head of disease surveillance at the ministry, told those attending the crisis meeting.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, Ms Mbarire said the country's preparedness to tackle the flu was above par. The National Tourism Crisis Management Team is a forum that is charged with managing crises in the tourism industry.
It was gazetted in February 2007 and was critical in issuing international guidelines to tourists during last year's post election violence.
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What crisis are we talking about here? This is a mild form of flu, no worse than the ordinary influenza that afflicts millions every year. Yes, it's potentially fatal. Flu does kill, but only it seems people who are already predisposed to be very susceptible. This kind of panic reporting should have been consigned to the past. There are tourists even now who are thinking should we go? The same people who have just spent a small fortune on malarone tablets to avoid contracting malaria, a genuinely dangerous and indiscriminate disease.
Yet another shot in the foot by the Kenya… [Read Full Text]
What crisis are we talking about here? This is a mild form of flu, no worse than the ordinary influenza that afflicts millions every year. Yes, it's potentially fatal. Flu does kill, but only it seems people who are already predisposed to be very susceptible. This kind of panic reporting should have been consigned to the past. There are tourists even now who are thinking should we go? The same people who have just spent a small fortune on malarone tablets to avoid contracting malaria, a genuinely dangerous and indiscriminate disease.
Yet another shot in the foot by the Kenya… [Read Full Text]