A cholera outbreak which has affected many in Nairobi has been declared “under control” by Kenyan authorities.
Nearly 50 people are now in a city hospital being treated in isolation for the disease, they are believed to have contracted cholera while attending a health conference in the capital.
Nairobi county Health Minister Dr Benjamin Muia told the BBC: “The situation is under control. We are closely monitoring all those who are in hospital.
“We can assure the public that we are fully prepared for any eventuality. If there is an outbreak of cholera in the city, we have a solid plan of how to tackle it.”
Hospital officials have raised concern over more becoming infected from the event, as hundreds gathered for the four-day forum.
It is so far unclear how they caught the disease, which has led to five deaths in the past month.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera.
Most of those infected will have no or mild symptoms but, in severe cases, the disease can kill within hours if left untreated.
In a press release on 24 May, Kenya’s Ministry of Health said there had been 146 cases across the country since the outbreak began.
Some of those infected had attended a wedding at an upmarket estate in Nairobi.
As a result, authorities put in place emergency measures to try and curb its spread.
An outbreak two years ago killed 65 people across Kenya.
