Mandera County is on high alert over fears of a cholera outbreak after the main business place was slowly becoming a health hazard.
Known to Locals as Mandera’s bus park a business premises inhabited by 1000 people all-in small-scale trading activities, residents are unhappy with the current state of the market.
The area has no toilets, water services with piles of garbage scattered in the vicinity putting residents on the line for cholera disease outbreak.
According to the residents, piles of garbage’s have for months been mounting in the market with an awful stench, making life a living hell for traders and customers.
Residents are now in fear and are appealing to the Municipal Council of Mandera East Sub County to improve the sanitary situation in the market.
Mohamed Hussein, a trader in the market said the situation at the market had become part of our daily routine, which is unfortunate.
He added if the municipal council will not provide proper garbage disposal at market deadly diseases like cholera could easily spread in the market and beyond adding that the market serves a large population spread all over the county.
Over 30 women sell uncovered food items with no legal documents from the government.
The traders at the Mandera bus park market want the relevant authorities to sort out the mess to avoid a catastrophe by improving the hygiene conditions in the area as well as the places where food is sold by removing the waste to reduce the risk of getting the infection.
Mandera County Health CEC Mohamud Eda said surveillance in the county has been heightened to ensure adequate response in case of an outbreak.
The county health department has this week sent to Nairobi hospitals three samples of stool suspected containing cholera virus.
Cholera is a rapidly dehydrating diarrheal disease caused by consuming water or food contaminated with a toxigenic serogroup of Vibrio cholerae.
Cholera has a short incubation period of 12 hours to five days and the virulence of cholera can lead to rapid patient deterioration or trigger other explosive cholera outbreaks.
Within hours of symptom onset, a previously healthy person can become severely dehydrated, electrolyte-depleted and develop shock. If not treated promptly, the patient may die within 1-3 hours.
By Adan Mohamed
