Kenya confirms cholera outbreak in 6 counties

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Kenya’s health ministry issued a cholera outbreak alert Wednesday after confirming 61 cases across six of the country’s 47 counties.

Ground zero was confirmed to be a wedding festival that was held in Kiambu County.

The Ministry of Health called for vigilance in the affected areas as it published the numbers of confirmed cases.

“The Ministry of Health has confirmed a cholera outbreak in six counties, namely; Kiambu (31), Nairobi (17), Murang'a (1), Kajiado (2), Nakuru (2) and Uasin Gishu (8),” Acting Director-General of Health Patrick Amoth said in a statement.

He added that of the 61 cases so far, 13 are currently hospitalized, eight have been discharged and 40 were treated as outpatients.

The National Public Health Microbiology Laboratory has isolated Vibrio cholera-01-Ogawa as the responsible serotype.

“Noteworthy, the ongoing drought situation in the country may worsen the outbreak. It is therefore the ministry's decision to put all counties on high alert for possible cholera outbreaks,” Amoth said.