Five cases of cholera have been confirmed in two sub counties of Murang’a since October 11, when the government issued a notice on outbreak of the disease in some counties.
Three of the patients have been treated and discharged from hospital while the other two cases are still active.
The County Health Promotion Officer Danson Mwangi has confirmed that the first three cases were reported at Gatura area of Gatanga Sub County, and the victims were among a group of people who attended a wedding in Limuru, Kiambu County.
He added that the other two cases were from Ithiru ward of Kandara Sub County saying the patients are still recuperating in hospital.
On Friday, Mwangi speaking to KNA in his office, said health officers have been deployed to monitor the situation and curb spread of the disease.
“We have trained a team which is already on ground to educate members of the public about the disease and how they should prevent contracting cholera. What we are encouraging people to do is to frequently wash hands using clean water and soap and avoid eating cold foods,” he added.
The health officers, Mwangi noted, are following up the cases and ensuring residents with cholera-like symptoms get urgent medical attention. “We have also provided a toll number 0800 721 020 for people to call when they suspect a cholera case so the medical team can take an urgent action,” said Mwangi.
He called upon neighbouring counties to take measures and ensure there is no spread of cholera from one county to the other. “The first cases were from Kiambu County and it’s easy to control the disease from spreading to neighbouring counties. Murang’a is neighbouring Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Machakos and Nyeri counties,” noted the Health Officer.
On his part, the County Disease Surveillance Officer Chris Kinyanjui decried increased food establishments which are not observing health standards. He observed that food hawking and that being prepared in open places for selling, can easily lead to spread of cholera since cleanliness is not adequately adhered to.
Kinyanjui called local residents to ensure they source food from clean places and wash their hands well before eating.
“For those preparing food to sell at vipandas we encourage them to ensure they have enough water to clean food before preparing it. The areas should also have toilets and cover their food all the time to avoid being contaminated by flies,” he remarked.
By Bernard Munyao
