National outbreak management and rapid response teams have been activated in Kenya to mitigate a cholera outbreak that has caused deaths in different parts of the country.
Dr Jackson Kioko, the Director of Medical Services in a statement said that the ministry has heightened surveillance for acute watery diarrhea by conducting active case search and contact to curb more deaths.
The Africa Review reports of four people dying in Nairobi, Vihiga, Murang’a and Kiambu counties with another 142 hospitalized cases reported. Vihiga county is in the western parts of the country while the other three are in the central region.
“As a response to the outbreak, the Ministry of Health in collaboration with county governments and various partners have taken measures to ensure public safety,” said Dr Kioko.
“The country has been having a cholera outbreak since early May, with the first two cases reported in Mathare area, Nairobi. Later, the outbreak was reported in other areas of the country,” he added.
Dr Kioko also said that some of the cases reported in Nairobi, the coastal city of Mombasa and Vihiga are linked to a wedding held at Karen in Nairobi over a week ago.
The police are still searching for the female caterer involved at the event amid ongoing State inspection of public eateries.
Cholera is a potentially fatal water-borne disease transmitted through contaminated water and/or food. It causes watery diarrhea and vomiting that can rapidly lead to death through severe dehydration.
Generally the cholera bacteria spreads in places with poor hygiene, where people do not use latrines to dispose off excreta, or do not wash their hands with soap or ash after defecation.
