Health Director-General Patrick Amoth debunked myths about 'super gonorrhoea' after news of the disease raised an alarm among Nairobi residents.
Speaking on Tuesday, January 17, Amoth confirmed the presence of the disease but clarified that the 'super' connotation did not refer to its prevalence.
He added that the research conducted by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) established a new variant of Neisseria gonorrhoea, which exhibited unusual properties
"We established that quite a number of pathogens were resistant to when tested for treatment with several antibiotics," the DG stated.
Amoth allayed fears of a super-spread, adding that only 0.0025 per cent, one out of 400 people tested, hosted the pathogen. However, he did not respond to the theory linking the disease to the Covid-19 vaccines.
He clarified that KEMRI conducted research exclusively on commercial sex workers and the exercise took place a while ago. Notably, the government was expecting a conclusive report on the findings.
"KEMRI is doing a deep dive into this to inform us further on the spread and span of this particular strain and once we have that information, we will be able to put in place the appropriate intervention to stall," the DG stated.
Nonetheless, Amoth revealed that cases of the 'super' gonorrhoea were reported in other countries including the United Kingdom
He assured Kenyans that the government would find treatment for the strain but in the meantime called for citizens to exercise responsible sexual behaviour.
Referring to a report released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), he advised the public to reduce the number of sexual partners and use protection.
KNBS placed the average number of sexual partners of male citizens at seven per lifetime compared to two for women.
Notably, Nairobi men (9.3) and women (2.6) were ranked fifth and sixth respectively in the average number of sexual partners in their life.
