Cases of Deadly Endemic Disease Reported in Mandera

BANISA – Several suspected cases of the deadly parasitic disease Kala-Azar have been reported in Guba Ward, Banisa Constituency on Friday.

Numerous patients told Kulan Post on phone from Guba that local medical centres were overwhelmed in containing the outbreak.

The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) notified “the County Government beforehand to set up a treatment center and a laboratory facility to manage the disease in Guba Ward.”

In Tarbey Primary, a Grade Seven pupil died on Thursday following days of “unrelenting fever.”

Kala-azar is a parasitic disease caused by the Leishmania parasite that typically lives in infected sandflies and one can contract the disease from a bite of the insect.

Deadly Sandfly-Borne Disease Hits Mandera. Photo/ Yunis Dekow

The sandflies that carry the parasite typically reside in tropical and subtropical environments and at the moment, Mandera is dry.

Sharing the porous border with Somalia and Ethiopia, Mandera has been facing challenges of importation of communicable diseases every year.

Outbreaks like measles (3 episodes), cholera (4 episodes), Chikungunya (1 episode) and dengue fever among others easily spread across the national borders.

Environmental changes like deforestation, urbanization, and irrigation schemes are some of the risk factors of the parasitic disease that is endemic in Kenya.

Mandera County Department of Public Health has in the past been attributed to managing and controlling some outbreaks.

Kala-azar is deadly if untreated, with a fatality rate over 95%. Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to prevent death.

Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) can cause severe skin disfigurement, leading to stigma and social exclusion.

Infected individuals can transmit the disease through sandflies, making kala-azar a major public health concern.

The fatal disease caused disabling scars and impaired mobility, affecting daily life and economic well-being.

Implementation of a strategic plan, a framework, and projects in specific counties is the Ministry of Health plan to control the disease.

The ministry aims to reduce morbidity and outbreaks, and eventually eliminate the disease.

Suspected Cases of Parasitic Epidemic Reported in Mandera. Photo/ Yunis Dekow

The Health Strategic plan aims to reduce morbidity by 60% by 2025, Reduce outbreaks by 50% by 2025, and Implement integrated vector management.

Efforts to reach Mrs. Mumtaza Bishar Somo, the County Executive Committee Member for Health Services for comments went futile by the time of going to press.