The Ministry of Health has today issued a cholera alert following confirmation of 61 cases reported across six counties.
Acting Director General for health Dr Patrick Amoth says the outbreak has its origin to a wedding in Kiambu County.
So far,the outbreak has spread across Kiambu(31), Nairobi(17) and Murang’a(1) counties .
Other counties with cases include Kajiado(2), Nakuru(2) and Uasin Gishu counties.
According to the Ministry of health, of the sixty-one cases, thirteen people are currently in hospital while eight are out of hospital.
Forty persons are receiving outpatient treatment.
The National Public Health Microbiology Laboratory says Vibrio cholera-01-Ogawa is the responsible serotype for the outbreak.
This even as he warned that the ongoing drought situation in the country may worsen the outbreak.
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Consequently,all County Directors of Health will immediately notify all health workers of the alert.
Health care workers will watch out for patients presenting with watery diarrhoea of acute onset, conduct active search for acute watery diarrhoea in health facilities.
Already, the Division of Disease Surveillance and Response (DDSR), Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Program (FELTP) and the County Departments of Health of the affected counties have put in place response activities .
Response
Response activities include field investigations, surveillance, laboratory testing, case management and risk communication.
It will also entail community engagement and environmental sanitation to prevent further spread of the disease and manage the outbreak.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
An extremely virulent disease,cholera affects both children and adults and can kill within hours.
People with low immunity – such as malnourished children or people living with HIV – are at a greater risk of death if infected.
Cholera transmission is closely linked to inadequate environmental management.