The County government of Murang’a has placed Kahumbu ward in Kigumo Constituency under a 21-day quarantine to prevent the spread of suspected anthrax to neighboring wards.
The County Executive Committee (CEC) Member for Agriculture Dr. Apollo Kamau made this announcement after over 200 villagers fell sick on Sunday, February 10 after consuming contaminated meat.
“When there are such diseases categorized as notifiable, we must place this ward under quarantine to prevent livestock or their products from leaving or entering this place.
Right now, we will place the shopping centres around here under quarantine to ensure livestock products do not leave this ward and to prevent locals from eating them,” said Kamau.
Clinics to Treat Anthrax Victims
Murang’a Health CEC Dr. Fredrick Mbugu said the government will set up mobile clinics throughout the ward to treat those affected and vaccinate all livestock in the area.
“We are mobilizing a mobile clinic that will be stationed in the Sub County for the next seven to fourteen days so that we can catch everybody. We are urging all residents who came into contact with this animal to report to the administration so that we can start them on treatment,” said Dr. Mbugu.
Also Read: Govt Cautions Kenyans Against Eating Chicken Meat
Governor Kang’ata
Governor Irungu Kang’ata pledged that the county will support the affected families during the quarantine period.
“The county government will register those affected in this village and support them for a certain period of time depending on the funds we will be able to raise,” said Kang’ata.
According to reports, several people from the ward were treated and discharged from hospitals after meat from a cow suspected of dying from anthrax.
Investigations are ongoing to arrest the man who purportedly certified the meats as safe for human consumption.
Also Read: Govt Warns Kenyans Against Eating Uninspected Meat
Cow Owner
Speaking to the media, Christopher Ngugi, the owner of the cow said he discovered that one of his cows had an unidentified illness on January 31.
Ngugi said he consulted a local animal health officer who slaughtered the cow and found ingested clothes and polythene which he claimed that blocked the cows breathing system ultimately causing its death.
He explained that farmers crowded his home to buy the animal’s meat for Ksh.400 rather than the Ksh.600 charged by local butcheries.
However, the farmer said another cow died on February 8 and a health officer confirmed that the animal had died of anthrax.
