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Kenya: Cholera Alert As Disease Spreads to 16 Districts

Dave Opiyo

11 April 2008

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Nairobi — A cholera alert was issued Thursday as the government admitted that 59 people had died from the disease since last November.

A further 1,217 people have already contracted the disease which has been discovered in 16 districts in Nyanza, Rift Valley, North Eastern and Western Provinces.

The worst affected districts are Suba, Migori, Homabay, Rongo, Siaya, Kisumu East and West, Bondo, Nyando, Kisii South, Wajir, Mandera East and Central, Naivasha, Nakuru and Bunyala.

On Thursday, the Director of Medical Service, Dr James Nyikal, confirmed that this latest outbreak, going by the statistics, could turn out to be one of the worst if urgent measures are not taken to contain it.

"Most deaths occurred at home or on the way to hospital," Dr Nyikal said at a news conference in Nairobi.

Assured public

But he assured the public that the government had taken adequate measures to control the disease.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease. If not treated immediately, it leads to severe loss of water in the body and death.

To avoid cholera, the government advises Kenyans to adhere to the following:

• Always wash hands with soap and water after visiting the toilet and before eating food

• Always use the toilet and also ensure that the water used to clean soiled clothing is disposed of in the toilet. Any other materials used to clean children after defecating must be disposed of in the toilet as well.

• Ensure safety of household water by either boiling or treating it with chlorine based tablets or solutions

• Food should be well-cooked and enough for a single meal to avoid contamination of stored cooked food.

• Any person who visits or handles a cholera patient is advised to wash their hands thoroughly with soap

• Kenyans are also advised not to wash clothes or materials contaminated by stool from patients suffering from cholera in water sources such as rivers and lakes.

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