Cholera fears in Moyale as one case confirmed

Cholera

There are fears of cholera outbreak in Moyale, Marsabit County after one patient was admitted with severe diarrhea.

Health authorities in the Moyale, Marsabit County have issued a cholera outbreak alert after one person was diagnosed with the disease symptoms.

Moyale sub-county health official Mohammed Hapicha revealed that one woman was hospitalised after suffering acute diarrhea on Sunday night.

“We have confirmed a case of cholera at Moyale sub-county referral hospital after a 25-year-old lady was presented to our facility with watery diarrhea of acute onset. The lady has no travel history for the last two weeks,” Mr Hapicha.

The woman was a hotel worker with no travel history.

The patient has been temporarily isolated in a separate ward as a precaution against further transmissions.

Preliminary tests carried out by the medics at the facility indicated that she was suffering from cholera. 

However,  samples had been sent to the government chemistry in Nairobi for conclusive examination.

As soon as the Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) was complete and the findings obtained, they will authoritatively speak about the strange malady that has sent panic among the locals.

Mr Hapicha revealed that they are currently undertaking an intensive contact tracing in residential areas to enable mass screening if people she might have met.

He detailed that life-saving measures had been employed in a bid to slow down any potential outbreak in the region.

Public health personnel and community workers had been dispatched to conduct an awareness campaign about sanitation and hygiene among Moyale town residents.

Public health

Consequently, the public health officers have embarked on an intensive inspection exercise on all the social joints and eateries in Moyale town to ensure that they met all the public health prerequisites.

In 2020, one person from the Butiye area in Moyale sub-county died and six others were admitted following the cholera outbreak.

In April 2020, a cholera outbreak crisis was reported in the Illeret ward in the North Horr constituency leading to the death of over 30 while 134 others were treated and discharged.