Ministry raises alarm as cholera kills 25

A wave of cholera traced to a wedding in Kiambu County in October has already claimed at least 25 lives and spread to 10 counties, the Ministry of Health has said.

Acting Director-General of Health Patrick Amoth yesterday said that the country has recorded a total of 1,094 cases of the highly infectious disease.

“The index case of cholera came from Kiambu County following a wedding. Out of that, we have had sporadic cases... So far, as of 26th [of November], we had 10 counties involved. Nairobi, Garissa and Machakos counties have the highest burden of the disease. All the 17 sub-counties in Nairobi County have been affected,” Dr Amoth said on the sidelines of a workshop at a Machakos hotel.

He was meeting county health executives during the launch of a status report on infection prevention control in the devolved units.

“Studies have shown that close to 80-90 per cent of health care workers do not actually practice infection prevention control measures. So one of our challenges as health care workers is to be able to practise what we preach so that we influence community members appropriately,” Dr Amoth said, referring to interventions such as washing hands with soap and running water regularly and disinfecting surfaces.

The Ministry of Health also advises communities to cook food thoroughly and keep it covered, to peel fruits before eating them and to avoid eating raw vegetables.

Dr Amoth said that the government had stepped up efforts to contain the spread of cholera.

“As the national government, we have developed infection prevention control interventions together with the counties. We have done risk communication and supported the counties in terms of diagnostics. We are working with the counties to ensure availability of safe portable water,” he said.

Machakos Health Executive Daniel Yumbya said the county government has banned hawking of food in a bid to control the spread of the disease, which has claimed the life of at least one person in the county.

In Garissa, the cholera outbreak has claimed four lives and hundreds of others are receiving treatment in different health facilities.

Garissa County Commissioner Boaz Cherutich and County Health Executive Ahmednathi Omar confirmed he deaths.

The disease was first reported in the county on October 23 at Hagadera Refugee Camp in Daadab. A total of 372 cases had been recorded by Sunday across Garissa with Dadaab refugee camps remaining the most affected.

Mr Omar said measures had been put in place to contain the disease. He said several sub-counties have reported cholera cases including Dadaab, Fafi and Garissa.

Mr Cherutich urged local administrators, including chiefs and his deputies, to continue sensitising the community in their respective jurisdictions.