The Nairobi County Health Executive, Bernard Muia, said the patients contracted the fatal water-borne pathogen from their kin.
Kenya’s Nairobi County on Thursday issued an alert over possible cholera outbreak across the city of Nairobi after five cases were confirmed.
The Nairobi County Health Executive, Bernard Muia, said the patients contracted the fatal water-borne pathogen from their kin.
“They had travelled from Western Kenya on Saturday to attend a wedding in Karen, an affluent suburb of Nairobi.
Muia said three unconfirmed deaths at a residential estate in Nairobi had also been reported but are under investigation.
He said that the victims were suspected to have travelled to visit relatives in Komorock residential estate after the wedding.
“There is a cholera outbreak in Nairobi and the victims are receiving care at the Nairobi hospital.
“They are in stable condition. So far we have five cases which have been laboratory-confirmed,” Muia said.
He said health workers had launched surveillance across the city to ensure new cases were detected early and treating household water supply and wells with chlorine.
The official said six surveillance centres within Nairobi have since been reactivated and advised city dwellers to be on the look-out for diarrhoea, vomiting and lack of appetite.
“It is presumed that the travelers from western Kenya spread the disease to city residents but we are putting measures in place to avoid the disease from spreading any further”, Muia said.
He dismissed claims that the disease could have been spread by food handlers at the wedding, saying that the county had put strict measures in place to ensure hygiene.
Cholera is a potentially fatal water-borne disease transmitted through contaminated water and/or food.
It causes watery diarrhoea and vomiting that can rapidly lead to death through severe dehydration.
Generally, cholera bacteria spreads in places with poor hygiene, where people do not use latrines to dispose of excreta, or do not wash their hands with soap or ash after defecation.
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