KENYA: Acute diarrhoea reported in western region

Photo: Nancy Palus/IRIN

Personal hygiene is vital in defeating the cholera virus

NAIROBI, 3 July 2008 (IRIN) - At least 34 cases of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) have been reported in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru in the western region, a senior health official has said.

"Two deaths have also been reported in the hospital," Shahnaaz Sharif, the senior deputy director of medical services, said.

Another two deaths have been reported in the community, but not confirmed, Sharif said. The cases had been reported in the Kasabara area in the Gilgil division of the town.

The cases were attributed to the contamination of a spring in the Mbaruk area in the district.

Intervention measures included supplying the residents with clean water, along with a ban on the hawking of food in the area, he said.

"We are also going to protect the spring and chlorinate it," he said.

In addition, a mobile clinic run by the Kenya Red Cross Society distributed prophylaxis treatment to 986 people, as well as health and hygiene education, in Mbaruk. At the same time, water kiosks will be set up along the Nakuru-Naivasha highway.

Sharif said he was awaiting laboratory results to confirm whether the AWD was cholera.

Meanwhile, an outbreak of cholera in the western district of Kisumu East has still not been brought under control. "There has been an on-and-off recurrence of the disease," Sharif said.

The latest outbreak in the district, which began on 6 June, mainly affected the slum areas of Manyatta, Nyalenda and Obunga and was attributed to seepage from latrines, which contaminated wells.

An earlier outbreak of the disease in January affected the districts of Bondo, Homa Bay, Kisii South, Kisumu West, Migori, Nyando, Rongo, Siayathe and Suba in the western region, leading to the deaths of 46 people, with 832 cases being reported, according to a UN World Health Organization (WHO) report on 19 April.

So far, no new cases had been reported in the other districts, he said.

Cholera is an acute bacterial infection whose symptoms include copious, painless, watery diarrhoea that can easily lead to severe dehydration and death if not treated promptly.

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