Poor hygiene, drought fuelling cholera spread
A child washes hands in June last year. A cholera outbreak in the country has been linked to poor hygiene and food handling, as well as water shortage caused by the drought.
Poor hygiene, drought and laxity in surveillance have fuelled the latest outbreak of cholera in the country, experts say.
The Health ministry on Friday reported the latest data from Kiambu County where 344 cases and five deaths had been recorded since October last year. The first cases of cholera in the county were traced to a wedding.
While the ministry has not recently shared situational update that would give a comprehensive national outlook, it reported in December that other counties, including Kitui, Homa Bay, Garissa, Tana River, Nairobi, Murang’a, Machakos, Kajiado, Wajir and Uasin Gishu had also been affected.
In Tana River County the outbreak that started in November last year has since resulted in the deaths of 11 people according to the Health ministry. However, residents say the death toll is higher as more have died at home.
“We witnessed the symptoms in early December, children were the first victims. I remember burying two of my nephews with a condition similar to these, I have no doubt it was Cholera,” said Abdi Golicha, a resident. Mr Golicha was discharged from Madogo health centre a week ago after he recovered from cholera symptoms.
“I witnessed two friends dying at the centre, a man and a woman, we had been admitted a day apart. I thought I was going to die too,” he said.
Acting Director General for Health Patrick Amoth while announcing the outbreak last year warned that the ongoing drought could worsen the outbreak.
During the pandemic, there were few cholera cases reported in the country, but some studies show that it could have been because all the attention may have shifted to Covid-19.
Researchers who published their work in the International Journal of Public Health warned that neglecting cholera prevention services, especially in areas with poor sanitation and hygiene, was a ticking time bomb.
Drought
Consultant pathologist Dr Ahmed Kalebi told the Nation yesterday that the root cause of cholera outbreaks is poor food and water hygiene, and lately drought.
“People need to be better sensitised about water and food hygiene. The government, especially county governments, need to do better in terms of water supply since its scarcity is contributing to the whole mess,” he said.
“The ongoing drought has contributed to the cholera outbreaks because water scarcity means people are turning to more polluted and contaminated water sources,” he added.
Dr Kalebi explained that during the pandemic, some of the factors that fuel waterborne or food-borne diseases were suppressed because of the heightened hygiene measures particularly, hand washing. He lamented that public health awareness seems to have been neglected now and the ripple effect is felt in the rising number of cholera cases.
In Kitui where a few cases have been reported, Dr Kavindu Dominic told the Nation that most of the cases there are imported from other counties. He said that the county has taken action by banning roadside food vending.
“Members of the public should uphold some of the practices that they had during the pandemic such as hand washing, which goes a long way in preventing the spread of cholera,” Dr Kavindu said.
In Homa Bay County, just like in Kitui, the Health Department has suspended food hawking to help curb the spread of cholera.
