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Cholera outbreak: Nine people dead, over 120 hospitalised in Wajir South

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DEVELOPING NEWS

WAJIR—At least nine people have succumbed to the ongoing outbreak of cholera in Wajir County with a growing number of patients streaming to the already overstretched health centres in Banane Ward of Wajir South.

By midday Saturday, 123 patients were receiving treatment at Biyamadow and Siriba areas. Out of the nine deaths, four were reported in Siriba while five others lost their lives in Biyamathow. The report was confirmed to Kulan Post by the area MCA, Dahaba Yusuf.

Ali Salat Hassan, a community health worker said they are expecting more patients—some with severe symptoms—from the neighbouring areas.

Local NGOs and the county government have now joined the bid to contain the outbreak.

Yunis Dekow, a journalist who covers extensively about developing news in the region said: “that [the] prevailing signs ndicate that the epidemic may follow the pattern of past cholera epidemics that peaked weeks after they started.”

He added that: “This is largely due to slow response as well as the lack of clear harmonisation between the county government and the national government.”

Dr Mohamed Kahiye, the county Chief Officer for Health while speaking during the World Aids Day in Wajir. (Courtesy)

The Wajir County Chief Officer for Health, Dr Mohamed Kahiye told Kulan Post that the administration “is doing everything at it’s disposal to mitigate the situation.”

“We have have since deployed medical officers and availed requisite resources. We’ve already set up Cholera Treatment Centre,” he noted.

National Outbreak 

By last week, the Ministry of Health reported new cases of the deadly infections in most parts of the country Garissa County was leading with 654 cases followed by Nairobi (384), Machakos (231) and Kiambu (164).

At least 55 cholera-associated deaths have been reported since early December last year. This represents the most complete data available as of the first week of January, 2023.

This is the second cholera outbreak in a span of one year with 1,409 new cases reported nationwide since October last year. The first case was confirmed after 8 people who had attended a wedding held in Red Hill Gardens, Kiambu County. Cholera is endemic in Kenya, especially in the Coast, Eastern, Nyanza Rift valley provinces.

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