This archive report was first published on 20 April 2020.
Kenya's government has announced plans to utilize influenza surveillance sites to determine whether Covid-19 had been in the country earlier than March 12, when the first case was reported.
According to Health Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi, the ministry will seek the assistance of the sentinel sites established in the late 2000s at the height of avian flu.
Dr. Mwangangi explained that the exercise, known as serosurveillance, will be done alongside targeted mass testing to determine the true scale of the pandemic in Kenya.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe reported that Kenya has 281 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 14 deaths, with concerns that there may be additional deaths recorded as acute respiratory infections in lower-level hospitals and facilities.
Experts note that serosurveillance will be crucial now that the disease is in the community and being spread by asymptomatic individuals, people who are sick but show no signs.
Kenya has conducted over 13,000 tests, a commendable number compared to other African countries, but still leaves out many people without knowing their potential to spread the disease.
Health CS Kagwe also asked counties to up their surveillance, as the disease has spread to counties adjacent to Nairobi, including Murang'a, Machakos, Kajiado, and Kiambu, as well as Mombasa County.
Prof. Sam Kariuki, a microbiology expert, explained that serosurveillance involves testing for antibodies to coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2) in a patient's bloodstream to determine whether that person previously had Covid-19.
