To avoid cholera, be clean

Cholera cases were recently reported in Kiambu, of all the counties.

The water-borne disease is enabled and transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated water.

Vibrio cholera, the bacteria that causes cholera, is transmitted mostly by faecal matter from an infected person. It is severe during rainy seasons when surface runoffs find their way into water bodies.

Kenya lags behind as regards the percentage of people with access to sanitary provisions of human waste disposal such as a pit latrine, especially in informal urban settlements, where communal latrines are not adequate.

Many in rural areas also do not use toilets. The term “flying toilets”, whereby human waste is put in plastic bags and tossed into the night, was made popular in the Kibera slums. 

There is also the famous Migingo Island, in Lake Victoria, which has a daily population of 2,000 yet has no toilet. At night, the lake becomes a public toilet.

In Kenya, diseases such as cholera, bilharzia, typhoid and other enteric fevers can be traced to contaminated water bodies, commonly through human activity.

The cholera-causing bacteria can be easily controlled through boiling water meant for human use, especially if it comes from suspect sources, and the use of proper sanitation and hygiene.

The prevailing water shortage in most counties, Nairobi included, and the insufficient sanitation facilities might be the main reason for the recent cholera outbreak in Kiambu.

Sewerage systems in most counties are nothing to write home about. Some are archaic, dating back to the colonial era, with leakages of raw sewage into water bodies like rivers where residents downstream consume it.

The national and county governments have to prioritise sanitation through the provision of adequate sewer systems and ensuring a sufficient supply of clean water for drinking and other domestic uses, and construction of toilets, even pit latrines.

Mr Kigo is an environmentalist. [email protected].